Bremen School officials recently discussed the topic of students receiving mental health services through the school and where parental consent comes into play.
Bremen Superintendent Dr. Jim White said a school board member concerned with parental rights brought the matter up for consideration during last week’s school board meeting. The question that was posed was whether written consent from a parent should be required before a student receives any kind of mental health examination, survey or assessment.
Dr. White said he told the member there’s a specific reason that counseling sessions are often kept confidential.
He explained, “If we’re going to be referring a child for an outside referral or any type of ongoing counseling, certainly we’re going to make the parents aware of it.”
Dr. White continued, “But I let him know, that sometimes, when a child comes to see a counselor, the parent may be the abuser in a situation.”
Superintendent White explained that this is one example that keeps school officials from notifying parents of every counseling appointment. Any cases of suspected child abuse are reported to the appropriate channels.
