Florida statute requires schools collect mental health data upon student enrollment

County Examiner continues to review provisions of the omnibus Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. Signed into law by former Florida Governor, now U.S. Senator Rick Scott, S.B. 7026 contains sections pertaining to firearm confiscations, prohibitions on persons younger than 21 years of age from purchasing a firearm, and adoption of policies relating to the prevention of violence on school grounds.

As school districts across the state gear up for the start of the 2019-2020 school year and in the run-up to the back-to-school shopping season, parents & guardians must adhere to an astonishing requirement of the MSDHSPSA; the disclosure to the school district of prior referrals to mental health services.

Section 1006.07, Florida Statutes, (1) (b) was amended to add the mental health services stipulation:

(1) CONTROL OF STUDENTS.—

(b) Require each student at the time of initial registration for school in the school district to note previous school expulsions, arrests resulting in a charge, and juvenile justice actions, and referrals to mental health services the student has had.

In 1971 the Florida Legislature enacted the Florida Mental Health Act. Colloquially known as the “Baker Act” the Act is named after Maxine Baker, former State representative from Miami who sponsored the Act, while serving as chairperson of the House Committee on Mental Health.

Referring to the treatment of persons with mental illness before the passage of her bill, Representative Baker stated “In the name of mental health, we deprive them of their most precious possession – liberty.”

Kinda tells you all you need to know about where collection of student mental health data through the school system is destined. 

Florida school district set to adopt policy hiding evidence of student crimes from taxpayers

One Florida county is set to adopt a zero-tolerance policy for school -related crimes that excuse the school from reporting certain student-committed crimes to law enforcement.

Draft policy documents publicly posted on The Lee County School District website reveal language taken almost word-for-word from a provision of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas School Safety Act excusing school districts from reporting certain student-crimes to law enforcement.

“Petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors do not require reports to a law enforcement agency, these include, but not limited to:

(a) Disorderly conduct

(b) Simple assault or battery

(c) Affray

(d) Theft of less than $300

(e) Trespassing

(f) Vandalism of less than $1,000

If a student commits more than one misdemeanor, the School Threat Assessment Team must consult with the school resource officer to determine if the act should be reported to law enforcement.

Florida SB 7026 signed into law by former Florida Governor Rick Scott in 2018 requires all county school districts adopt this policy and implement these procedures:

Here’s the exact language of Florida SB 7026, section 1006.13:

“Zero-tolerance policies do not require the reporting of petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors to a law enforcement agency, including but not limited to:

a)    Disorderly conduct

b)    Disrupting a school function

c)    Simple assault or battery

d)    Affray

e)    Theft of less than $300

f)     Trespassing

g)    Vandalism of less than $1000

With pressure now placed on school resource officers (SRO) to report or not report these types of student-related crimes to law enforcement, open government watchdogs have lots more ammunition with which to criticize school districts and LEO---becoming more opaque versus more transparent—and policies such as these put SROs in possibly very tenuous circumstances.

County Examiners role serves to remind Florida school districts and SROs that our 2018 Legislature passed this bill and our former Governor signed this bill into law. And in their haste to rush this bill through the Lege we now learn they've endorsed hiding evidence of school-related crime, keeping the public in the dark about legitimate public safety issues occurring in the grounds of their neighborhood schools.