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Senate Bill 12 - Parental Consent

Senate Bill 12 - Parental Consent

Parental Rights and Options Information

  • New Parental Consent Forms
    New legislation from the 89th Texas Legislative Session requires parents and guardians to provide annual consent for certain school-based services and activities.

Health Services

Parents must give consent before schools can provide routine physical health services, such as, first aid for minor injuries, vision and hearing screenings, and other routine school-based health services.  Below, you will find the Parent/Guardian Consent for School Health Services forms for each campus.

Livingston High School - Health Services Consent Form

Livingston Junior High - Health Services Consent Form

Cedar Grove Elementary - Health Services Consent Form

Creekside Elementary - Health Services Consent Form

Timber Creek Elementary - Health Services Consent Form

Pine Ridge Primary - Health Services Consent Form

FAQs: Consent for Health Services

  • Examples of routine health services that may be provided with your consent acknowledged on the School Health-Related Services Parental Consent Form:

    Physical health services:

    • First aid and injury evaluation
    • Nursing assessments and/or care of symptoms of illness or injury while at school
    • Routine health screenings- vision, hearing, and spinal screening
    • Monitoring of chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes, seizures, asthma)
    • Communicable disease or condition symptom evaluation, exclusion and readmission
    • Administration of medications (upon written parent request and with a physician’s order)
    • Health counseling and education (nutrition, hygiene, disease prevention, general wellness)
    • Coordination of health services
    • Special procedures (upon written parent request and with a physician’s order)

  • Parental consent is not required for these services:

    • Medical emergencies or those required by law

    • Administration of medications
    • Scheduled nursing procedures

  • These services are provided by licensed school nurses, teachers, athletic trainers, administrators, clinic aides or other staff  employed by LISD who are charged with supervising children.

  • In a serious emergency, staff will still act to protect your child’s safety and will contact you immediately.

  • Yes. All health records are protected under state and federal privacy laws.

Counseling Services

Parents must give consent before schools can provide mental or behavioral health services, such as short-term, school-based counseling for emotional or behavioral support, and social-emotional learning.

In accordance with law, the District must notify parents of staff services related to school counseling and give parents the opportunity to opt out before those services are provided to their child.

School counseling services are more fully explained in board policy FFEA, and student mental health is covered in board policy FFEB.  Information about threat assessments can be found in board policy FFB.

 

All District Employees:

  • Shall report alleged abuse or neglect of a student as required by law; and
  • May verbally inquire about a student's daily well-being without parental consent.

District employees and contractors will not provide assistance with social transitioning.

Under state law, a child may consent to counseling for themselves as it relates to suicide prevention, chemical addiction or dependency, or sexual, physical, or emotional abuse.

 

Routine Counseling Services

State law requires school counselors to provide the following services as part of a Comprehensive School Counseling Program:

  • A guidance curriculum to help students develop their full educational potential, including the student's interests and career objectives.
  • A responsive services component to intervene on behalf of any student whose immediate personal concerns or problems put the student's continued educational, career, personal, or social development at risk.
  • An individual planning system to guide a student ad the student plan, monitors, and manages the student's own educational, career, personal, and social development.
  • System support to support the efforts of teachers, staff, parents, and other members of the community in promoting the educational, career, personal, and social development of students.

School counselors routinely provide the following services:

  • Advise the students and their parents regarding the importance of postsecondary education, coursework designed to prepare students for postsecondary education, and financial air availability and requirements.
  • Early mental health prevention and intervention.
  • Building skills related to managing emotions, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and responsible decision-making.
  • Substance abuse prevention and intervention.
  • Suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
  • Grief-informed and trauma-informed practices.
  • Positive school climates, meaning the quality and character of school life, including interpersonal relationships, teaching and learning practices, and organizational structures, as experienced by students enrolled in the District, parents of those students, and personnel employed by the district.
  • Positive behavior interventions and supports.
  • Positive youth development.
  • Safe, supportive, and positive school climate.

 

Purpose of Counseling

Counseling services are provided to support students' emotional, social, and academic well-being.  Sessions may be individual or group-based, depending on student needs.

 

Parental Consent

Under state law, an employee or contractor of the District must obtain the written consent of a child's parent/guardian before the employee or contractor may conduct psychological or psychiatric examination or test, or psychological  or psychiatric treatment ("mental health related services"), unless the examination, test, or treatment is required under law.

These terms are defined by law as:

  • "Psychological or psychiatric examination or test" as a method designed to elicit information regarding attitude, habit, trait, opinion, belief, feeling, or mental disorder or a condition thought to lead to a mental disorder, regardless of the manner in which the method is presented or characterized, including a method that is presented or characterized as a survey, check-in, or screening or is embedded in an academic lesson.
  • "Psychological or psychiatric treatment" means the planned, systematic use of a method or technique that is designed to affect behavioral, emotional, or attitudinal characteristics of an individual or group.

 

A parent may opt-out of mental health related services annually, and consent may be revoked or reinstated at any time with written notice signed by the parent/guardian.

A parent may NOT opt out of the following:

  1. School district emergency responses
  2. Law enforcement or Department of Family and Protective Services activities
  3. Behavioral threat assessment required by law
  4. Other rights or duties required by law, including the Texas Family Code

 

Under state law, before administering a student well-being questionnaire or health screening form to a student, the District will provide a copy of the questionnaire or form the the student's parent/guardian and obtain the parent's/guardian's consent to administer the questionnaire or the form.  To that end, forms, screeners, and other documents that are routinely used in the process of providing counseling services to your child are attached.

Should the District recommend additional mental health care or the completion of a form or questionnaire not attached, the form will be provided to the parent and consent obtained before the form or services are provided to the student.

FAQs: Consent for School Counseling Services that Support Mental Health

  • Examples of services by school counselors or mental health staff that may be provided with parental consent are:

    • Short-term individual or small group counseling for emotional or behavioral support
    • Social-emotional learning
    • Support during emotional distress or crisis

  • No. Parental consent is not required for school counselors to provide academic services. Counselors will continue to support students with:

    • Course selection and scheduling
    • College and career readiness planning
    • Academic goal setting and monitoring
    • General school success strategies

    Note: This law (SB 12) only applies to mental and behavioral health-related counseling services, not academic counseling.

  • Parental consent is not required for these services:

    • Medical emergencies or those required by law including:
      • Immediate help if a student is at risk of self-harm or experiencing suicidal thoughts
      • Support for grief after a death or traumatic event
      • Situations involving suspected abuse or neglect (required by law to report)
      • Other urgent matters required by state or federal law

    Note: Under Texas law, a child may also consent to their own counseling in specific cases, including:

    • Suicide prevention
    • Chemical addiction or dependency
    • Sexual, physical, or emotional abuse

  • School counselors do not provide some services and would require separate parental consent through outside providers, such as:

    • Medical or psychological diagnoses
    • Long-term therapy, counseling, or treatment

    Note: LISD counseling staff do not provide medical or psychological diagnoses, long-term therapy, or treatment. When students need these types of services, families are connected with community agencies that require their own parental consent.

    • School Counselors and Responsive Services Counselors provide short-term, school-based counseling and crisis support.
    • Teachers and staff lead short SEL classroom activities that help students feel safe, connected, and ready to learn. These activities are not counseling or therapy.

  • In a serious emergency, staff will still act to protect your child’s safety and will contact you immediately.

  • Yes. All health records are protected under state and federal privacy laws.

Student Clubs/Organizations

Consent is required for a child to participate in school-sponsored clubs/organizations.  All extracurricular opportunities are reviewed and vetted to ensure compliance with state laws and district guidelines.  Parents maintain the right to decide which activities are appropriate for their child.

Student Club Participation Permission Form

FAQs: Consent for Student Clubs/Organizations

  • SB 12 adds Education Code §33.0815. Key points:

    • Districts may authorize or sponsor student clubs.
    • Districts may not authorize or sponsor a student club based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
    • Before a student participates in any authorized or sponsored club, the district must have written parental consent.

  • SB 12 requires written parent consent for any club or organization the district authorizes or sponsors. 

    Districts may choose to use a universal consent process each year for clarity and consistency, but SB 12’s consent mandate is tied to authorized/sponsored clubs.

  • Students will not be allowed to participate in a club/organization without a signed parent permission form.

  • Students will not be allowed to participate in a Career and Technical organization without a signed parent consent form.