Archive: letter of opposition against the Graham/Tiahrt Amendment to ESEA

July 20, 2001

Dear Conferee:

The undersigned organizations, representing parents, educators, health professionals, pupil services personnel, principals, and education advocates urge you to oppose inclusion of the House-passed Graham/Tiahrt amendment in the final version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization bill (HR 1). The Graham/Tiahrt amendment language takes the unprecedented step of requiring parental access to review curriculum and prior parental consent for any non-emergency medical, psychological, or psychiatric examination, testing or treatment of the student. Local, state, and federal education funding could be sanctioned if schools fail to meet this parental consent requirement.

We believe that this amendment, under the false guise of parental rights, will jeopardize the mental and physical health of elementary and secondary students; limit critical research on youth; and infringe on the local control of local education agencies (LEA) and communities to develop appropriate curriculum and services for students.

Health Care. The Graham/Tiahrt amendment requires written parental consent before a minor receives any health service in any school setting. This amendment threatens the important and unique role that teachers, administrators, and other pupil services personnel such as school counselors play in identifying and mitigating troubled behavior, such as depression, fear, extreme anxiety, or anger. A major obstacle to the delivery of health care to adolescents is concern about confidentiality. Mental health and other pupil services personnel encourage parental involvement where useful and appropriate, but forced parental involvement deters teens from seeking timely medical advice and necessary medical care. Further, this amendment would limit the ability of teachers, administrators, and pupil services personnel to identify students who are subjects of abuse and neglect and take steps to remove them from such situations.

This consent requirement would apply to situations such as routine visits to school nurses, sports physicals, and meetings with the school psychologists. For many students, school-based health screenings, such as those for height, weight, vision, hearing, and scoliosis, are the only health services students receive or are the first place health problems are identified. If parents fail to complete the parental consent requirement, their children will not have access to these critical services.

Local Control. The Graham/Tiahrt amendment violates the spirit of the House and Senate passed ESEA reauthorization bills to limit the federal role and increase the local role in education. While we support parental involvement and parental rights to review curriculum and instructional material, we believe that curriculum policy is a local issue. Currently these issues are handled at the local community level and should continue to be, but this amendment would limit collaboration and erode local control in education curricular matters. Further, the amendment will lead to additional federal control and bureaucracy because the Secretary of Education will have to determine if individual schools have violated the detailed requirements of this amendment.

Research. The Graham/Tiahrt amendment restates current law in requiring prior written parental consent for any research funded by the U.S. Department of Education. However, the amendment goes further, applying this requirement to surveys from any other federal agency. We believe that extending this requirement would limit or terminate school-based research on substance abuse, youth violence, and other important issues. Further, any survey that does not include a representative sample, a true threat of this parental consent requirement, will not provide accurate information on the extent of problems such as substance abuse, violence, or other health-related issues.

Once again, we urge you to oppose inclusion of the House-passed Graham/Tiahrt amendment language in the final ESEA reauthorization bill. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Jamie Pueschel, American Association of University Women, at 202/785-7730.

Sincerely,

American Association of School Administrators
American Association of University Women
American Counseling Association
American Education Research Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO
American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO
American Psychological Association
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
American School Counselor Association
Association of Educational Service Agencies
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Center for Women Policy Studies
Council for Exceptional Children
Council of Chief State School Officers
Council of Great City Schools
Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network
Myra Sadker Advocates
National Alliance of Black School Educators
National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity
National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators
National Association of Federal Education Program Administrators
National Association for Girls and Women in Sport
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of Social Workers
National Coalition for Sex Equity in Education
National Council of La Raza
National Council of Teachers of English
National Education Association
National Parent Teacher Association
National Rural Education Association
National School Boards Association
New York City Board of Education
Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
Research Society on Alcoholism
School Social Work Association of America
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
United States Student Association
Women's Sports Foundation