Lynn C. Woolsey: “When I asked the Marin County superintendent of public schools what she thought about H.R. 1170, she replied that it was…”

“When I asked the Marin County superintendent of public schools what she thought about H.R. 1170, she replied that it was a bill that would affect the many to solve the possible problem of just a few, and I think that describes it perfectly. Of course no one wants a school to force parents to medicate their children. In fact, we would not stand for that. But neither do we want teachers and other school personnel to be afraid to talk to parents about children's behavior or to suggest that a child should be evaluated by a medical health practitioner. That is why we worked with the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns) to add a provision to H.R. 1170 that specifically protects a teacher's right to have these discussions with parents and to identify a child for evaluation just as they can do now under IDEA. While I do think this bill creates more paperwork than good public policy, I do understand the gentleman from Georgia's (Mr. Burns) intentions, and I appreciate his willingness to work with us.”