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US may withdraw federal funds from schools that exclude children for not taking treatment

New York Scott Gottlieb

Members of the US House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce said that they would take up a new measure intended to prevent schools from requiring children who may have attention deficit disorder and other related behavioural problems from being treated as a precondition for attending.

The law was prompted by parents who have said that schools have threatened to remove their children from class unless they began taking behaviour modifying stimulant drugs.

The bill, called the Child Medication Safety Act, requires states to enact policies prohibiting the practice as a condition of receiving federal funding for education.

The house passed a more limited version of the same bill last week as part of a special measure reauthorising certain spending on education. US law makers said they would seek a broader version of the same bill that would apply to all public schools. The Senate has not yet acted on either version of the bill.

Representative Michael Castle, a Republican from Delaware and chairman of an education subcommittee, said that stimulants often help control disruptive behaviour in children with attention deficit problems. "Parents, however, should never be forced to decide between getting their child into school and keeping their child off of potentially harmful drugs. Schools should never presume to know the medication needs of a child," he said.

Representative Lynn Woolsey, a Democrat from California, agreed, saying that parents should have "the final word in deciding if their child should take a drug."

Several states, including Connecticut, Minnesota, Illinois, and Virginia, have already passed laws barring schools from demanding that children take antihyperactivity drugs to attend class. Other states, including Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, Utah, and Texas, have established commissions or enacted resolutions to investigate the issue or have encouraged schools to use proved methods of addressing behaviour problems instead of relying on drugs.

Several parents who have alleged coercive treatment at the hands of school personnel have testified before Congress in the last year. "Parents are losing their right to choose," said Katherine Bryson, a Republican representative from Utah.

"The decision to medicate a child with these drugs should be made by parents, as prescribed by a licensed medical doctor, not because of pressure from school officials," said John Boehner, a Republican representative from Ohio and chairman of the education and workforce committee.

"Parents should never be faced with the requirement of medicating their child, against their will and better judgment, in order to ensure their child will receive educational services," he said. "Parents should never have to choose between their child’s health and safety and their ability to receive an education."
 
 
 

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bmj.com, 24 May 2003 [Full text]

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Collections under which this article appears: Mood disorders (including depression) Child and adolescent psychiatry Adjustment disorders Impulse control disorders Governments - non UK

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