Lawmakers Require Parental Notification For Youth Baker Acts, Advocates Cheer Bill's Passage
Parents have long fretted about schools’ ability to circumvent them in critical health decisions regarding their children. Now, those loopholes are getting smaller after the legislature approved provisions requiring parents be notified before their child is sent for an involuntary psychiatric exam. It's part of a years-long effort by parents rights groups and mental health advocates to curb the use of the state's Baker Act on children. Beth Carr’s son was sent for an involuntary psychiatric exam in 2016 after what she describes as making a bad joke: her then-15-year-old said he liked the ...
Source: wlrn.org