A Resolution
Parent/Caregiver Consent
It is my hope that the Southwest Licking School Board will consider my resolution once I send it to them and they consult with an attorney that will not dissuade them from legal options and toward liability. While they may feel free to modify it as they see fit, adoption in its current and complete form in an open meeting will offer complete transparency with families while maintaining a focus on educational excellence.
Parental Consent to Outpatient Mental Healthcare and Evaluations Only by Qualified Professionals
The Board of Education of the Southwest Licking Local School District, Licking County, Ohio met in Regular session on the 17th day of August 2023 at the office of the School District with the following members present:
Mrs. Engle -
Mrs. Moore -
Mrs. Spindler -
Mr. Vincent -
Mr. Zeune -
Mr(s). _____ moved the adoption of the following Resolution:
WHEREAS, the purpose of public education is academic in nature and scope,
Whereas Board Policy IGBL: Parent and Family Involvement in Education states “The Board directs the administration and teaching staff to promote parent and family involvement by encouraging school administrators to set expectations and create a climate conducive to parent and family participation”,
WHEREAS, Southwest Licking School district has already accidentally released student information and immoderate and outsized data collection increases the risk of additional occurrences,
WHEREAS School Counselors are not licensed and/or employed by the district to provide outpatient and mental healthcare services,
WHEREAS misdiagnoses by otherwise qualified and trained professionals is a present and real danger when parents/caregivers are not consulted on mental health concerns as recognized broadly by the field of psychology,
WHEREAS School Counselors are not under any additional ethical requirements of confidentiality beyond the scope of other staff members, i.e., teachers and administrators,
WHEREAS there exists ongoing litigation throughout the U.S. regarding parent/guardian rights to consent exposing districts that adopt polices of confidentiality against parents formally or informally to liability,
WHEREAS all district employees are mandatory reporters in the event of suspected child abuse, in which case authorities will be notified as well as the parent/guardians as determined by the investigating agency,
WHEREAS Ohio Revised Code 5122.04 does not apply to school counselors because they are not “mental health professionals”,
WHEREAS special interest groups seek to leverage flawed confidentiality policies to expose children to gender ideology, sexual promiscuity, values imposition and data mining,
WHEREAS the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment requires prior written consent from parents/guardians, in the case of unemancipated minors, before utilizing any instrument used to collect “mental or psychological problems of student or student's family”, such as SEL and PHQ assessments that are paid for with federal funding,
WHEREAS the U.S. Supreme Court has often and long held the doctrine of parental rights that assumes parents have the natural right to direct the upbringing and education of their own children,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Education of the Southwest Licking Local School District that: Southwest Licking School District counselors offer academic guidance to students regarding career planning, academic planning and class scheduling and are not qualified to make outpatient healthcare referrals,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Southwest Licking School Districts rejects novel theories proposed by the Ohio School Counselors Association, and it’s affiliates, that define students as clients irrespective of a student’s parents/guardians under ORC 2317.02,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the district staff will not refer students, with or without parental notification, to nonprofits and organizations that have implemented “quick exit” shortcuts* designed to conceal website and chatroom access from parents and caregivers,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that blanket opt-ins or opt-outs are not supportive of a collaborative relationship between the district and families and, effective immediately, each instrument of measuring student attitudes, mindsets and/or behaviors will require parent/caregiver opt-in.
This Resolution shall be effective upon its adoption.
Mr(s). _____ seconded the Resolution and the roll being called upon its adoption the resulted as follows:
Mrs. Engle -
Mrs. Moore -
Mrs. Spindler -
Mr. Vincent -
Mr. Zeune -
Adopted the 17th day of August 2023.
__________________________________
Clerk of the Board of Education of the
Southwest Licking Local School District
Licking County, Ohio
*Quick exit shortcuts are implemented, for example, by thetrevorproject.org in which the user simply triple clicks the mouse cursor anywhere on the webpage and redirects to unrelated content and erases browser history.