Let me remind you : February 5, 2013 Bill Would Require "Behavioral Health Assessment" Imagine if state law required that every 12, 14, and 17-year-old undergo a behavioral health assessment – an invasive and comprehensive “review of physical and mental health, intelligence, school performance, employment, level of function in different domains including family situation, and behavior in the community.” Imagine if the law required the assessment for every child, even if there have never been any indications of behavioral issues. That is exactly the situation Connecticut parents – those who home school their children and those who send their kids to public school - will be facing if Proposed Bill 374 is adopted this session. Although the bill states that the test results will only be disclosed to the parents, the health care provider must submit a form to the State Board of Education verifying that the assessment has been completed. Before dismissing this as a localized issue, the reader is urged to consider two things: First, if their fundamental parental rights are not enough to protect their children from such an intrusion, what are your fundamental parental rights worth? Second, courts have already weakened the role that parents play in deciding whether their children face similarly invasive evaluations in the public schools in other parts of the country. The Ninth Circuit held in Fields v. Palmdale that “a psychological survey is a reasonable state action pursuant to legitimate educational as well as health and welfare interest of the state.” This is a parental rights issue; it is a liberty issue for all of us. Every year lawmakers introduce legislation that would trample the right of parents to make decisions for their children. The Supreme Court once held that “[t]he statist notion that governmental power should supersede parental authority in all cases because some parents abuse and neglect children is repugnant to American tradition.” Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584 (1979) Instead, today’s lawmakers quip that “If just one child can be saved, we have to pass this law.” But is that correct? Are we getting better or worse at understanding the role of good law? It was an even older Court that wrote, “A desirable end cannot be promoted by prohibited means.” Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390 (1923) The problem is, in too many states the violation of fundamental parental rights is not immediately recognized as prohibited means. That is why states like Virginia, Mississippi, and Missouri are taking up Parental Rights Acts that would preserve this fundamental liberty as a matter of state statutory law. And it is why we are promoting the Parental Rights Amendment in the 113th Congress – to stop these intrusions all over the country. As a matter of fact, it is not okay to violate the inalienable rights of countless Americans just because policy makers arrogantly believe that they, through government, can end all ills. We need to protect our children – but we need to do so in a manner that protects our (and their) liberties as well. Otherwise, we end up with a country safe, sterile, and enslaved. In the days ahead, we will provide you with information on the Parental Rights Amendment in this Congress, and how you can contact your lawmakers to support it. Until then, though, we need your help in a couple of preparatory efforts. Action Items First, we are looking to double the size of our petition base this year. That means we need you to enlist friends and family members to sign on and become part of the solution. Click here to download a petition page or to sign up online. Second, we have launched Facebook Fan February with a goal to reach 30,000 fans on our Facebook Fan page. That will help us to expand our online reach so that more and more people will see our efforts and hopefully want to participate when we call Congress. So please take a moment today to “like” our fan page, and then to ask your friends and family to sign our petition as well. Or perhaps you could print out the petition and get even more of your neighbors to sign. And if you live in Connecticut, you will no doubt want to call your lawmakers and share your thoughts on Proposed Bill 374, as well. Click here for the alert from our friends at HSLDA. Together we can build an army of support to defeat these threats to parental rights, wherever they arise. Sincerely, Michael Ramey Director of Communications & Research
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 08:42:13 +0000
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