HOUSE BILL REPORT
ESHB 2442
As Passed House:
February 13, 1996
Title: An act relating to protecting and promoting the rights of parents.
Brief Description: Adopting the restoration of parents' rights and responsibilities act.
Sponsors: By House Committee on Law & Justice (originally sponsored by Representatives Mulliken, Sheahan, Sterk, Pelesky, McMahan, McMorris, Thompson, Smith, Honeyford, Goldsmith, Beeksma, Pennington, Sherstad, Koster, Hargrove, D. Sommers, D. Schmidt, Campbell, Benton, Johnson, Fuhrman, Stevens, Boldt and Backlund).
Brief History:
Committee Activity:
Law & Justice: 1/23/96, 1/31/96 [DPS].
Floor Activity:
Passed House: 2/13/96, 60-37.
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LAW & JUSTICE
Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 10 members: Representatives Sheahan, Chairman; Delvin, Vice Chairman; Hickel, Vice Chairman; Campbell; Carrell; Lambert; McMahan; Robertson; Smith and Sterk.
Minority Report: Do not pass. Signed by 7 members: Representatives Dellwo, Ranking Minority Member; Costa, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Chappell; Cody; Morris; Murray and Veloria.
Staff: Pat Shelledy (786-7149).
Background:
Minors' Access to Drug and Alcohol Treatment
A minor who is 13 years of age or older may consent to outpatient drug and alcohol treatment without first obtaining parental permission. Minors may receive inpatient treatment by consent of the parent for emergency detoxification or involuntarily under a commitment statute. There is not a specific provision that requires that parents be notified if their children obtain outpatient or inpatient treatment.
Minors' Access to Mental Health Treatment
A minor 13 years of age or older may obtain outpatient mental health treatment without parental permission. Parental authorization is required for a minor under age 13. There is not a specific provision that requires that parents be notified if their children obtain outpatient treatment. There is a provision that requires parents be notified if their children obtain inpatient treatment without parental consent.
Notice to Parents of Whereabouts of a Runway
Any person who, without legal authorization, provides shelter to a minor and who knows when providing that shelter that the minor is away from home without parental permission, must report the child's location to the parent, local law enforcement, or the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) within eight hours after the person knows the child is away from home without parental permission. The report may be made by telephone.
Notice to Parents of Suspension of Revocation of a Juvenile's Driver's License
The Department of Licensing may or must suspend or revoke a minor's license for various reasons. The department does not have to notify a parent about the suspension or revocation. The department is authorized to furnish to parents the child's driving record if the child is unemancipated.
Notice to Parents of Their Child's Arrest, Detention, or Penalty for Committing an Offense
When a juvenile is arrested and detained, the juvenile is entitled to a detention hearing. If the parents are available, the court must consult with the parents regarding continuing to detain the juvenile.
If the prosecutor files a charge against the juvenile, the court clerk must issue a summons to the juvenile and the parents commanding them to appear at the next hearing.
Parental Review and Consent to Teaching Materials and Topics
Parents may have access to their child's classroom and school sponsored activities to observe class procedure, teaching material, and class conduct, provided the parent does not disturb the classroom procedure or learning activity.
Various statutes direct or allow schools to provide specific materials and information to students on certain topics. Those topics include
!substance abuse;
!minimum requisites for good health, including methods to prevent exposure to and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases;
!HIV and AIDS education and prevention. Parents are entitled to review the program before their child attends. The parents must be notified and given an opportunity to inspect the material and curricula. The parents' child may not be required to attend the presentation if the parents object in writing after having attended the presentation;
!life skills tests;
!violence prevention training for teachers to impart techniques to students; and
!conflict resolution and mediation programs to train students to become mediators for their peers in conflict resolution.
The Family Educational and Privacy Rights Act of 1974, 20 U.S.C., Section 1232(g), contains numerous provisions governing parents' access to their child's educational records.
Parents' and Students' Right to Privacy
Apparently some schools ask students questions about their personal lives and their families' lives that the students and parents find objectionable.
School Counseling Services
Schools may offer counseling services, such as substance abuse counseling for a student and the student's family, and crisis counseling.
Parents' Rights Regarding Health Care of Their Child
Under common law, only a parent could give effective consent to treatment of his or her minor child. A parent is also granted authority in statute to give informed consent for a minor under age 18.
Various exceptions to this rule have been developed in case law or in statute. In some cases, the minor must also consent to treatment. In others, the minor may obtain treatment without parental consent. In others, the state may compel treatment over the objection of either the minor or the parent (immunizations, school screening for sight, deafness, or scoliosis, newborn testing, communicable diseases, parental neglect).
No specific provision exists regarding the right of either or both parents to be present in an examination room while a child receives medical treatment.
Minor's Rights Regarding Tests and Treatment for Sexually Transmitted Diseases
No person may disclose or be compelled to disclose the identity of any person who has had an HIV antibody test or the test results. The restriction also applies to a test for any other sexually transmitted disease when it is positive. Exceptions to this general rule allow dissemination of that information to the person tested or that person's legal representative. Legal representatives are not entitled to that information if the person tested is a minor over age 14.
A minor 14 years of age or older may consent to medical care relating to the diagnosis and treatment of any sexually transmitted disease. The minor's parents' consent is not necessary to authorize the care. There is no provision allowing notice to be given to parents about the treatment the minor receives.
Summary of Substitute Bill:
Parents' Right to Notice When Their Child Obtains Outpatient or Inpatient Drug or Alcohol Treatment
Treatment providers must provide notice to a minor's parents when the child obtains outpatient or inpatient treatment for drug or alcohol treatment if a) the minor consents to notifying the parents, or b) the minor's parents do not have to consent to the treatment and the provider determines that the minor has the capacity to make a rational choice about notifying the parents. Notice of inpatient treatment must be made within 48 hours of the first date of inpatient treatment, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Notice of outpatient treatment must be made within seven days of the request for outpatient treatment, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The notice must contain information about the name, location, and telephone number of the facility, and the staff person who is designated to discuss the minor's treatment with the parent.
Parents' Right to Notice When Their Child Obtains Outpatient or Inpatient Mental Health Treatment
Treatment providers must provide notice to a minor's parent or guardian when the minor requests outpatient or inpatient treatment for mental health problems. The notice must be made within 48 hours of the minor's request for inpatient treatment, unless the minor is admitted upon request, in which case current law applies and the notice must be made within 24 hours. If the minor requests outpatient treatment, the notice must be made within seven days of the request for treatment. Unless the minor is admitted to inpatient treatment, the notice does not have to be made if the minor does not consent to the notice and claims that the parent is abusing the minor. The contents of the notice and the time periods are the same as described above for issuing notice to parents of their child's treatment for drug and alcohol problems.
Parents' Right to Notice of Whereabouts of a Runaway
When DSHS receives a report about a runaway, the department must make a reasonable effort to notify the parent and may offer family reconciliation services.
A violation of the reporting statute is a misdemeanor, unless the violation is made by a licensing entity, in which case it is a licensing violation.
Parents' Right to Notice of Suspension or Revocation of a Juvenile's Driver's License
The department must notify parents of an unemancipated minor if the department takes any action to suspend or revoke their child's license because the child committed offenses under the motor vehicle code.
Parents' Right to Notice of Their Child's Arrest, Detention, or Penalty for Committing an Offense
The state and its political subdivisions must notify parents if their child is arrested, detained, or penalized, if under current law a notice mechanism is not already in place.
Parents' Right to Review Teaching Materials and to Consent to Certain Classes
Upon written request of a parent or personal appearance at a student's school, the school must make all educational materials that are associated with the parent's child's education available for inspection by the parent. The materials must be made available during school hours within five working days if the materials are located at the school and within 14 working days if the materials are not at the school but within the school district.
A student may attend classes concerning suicide, euthanasia, sexually transmitted diseases, sex education, contraception, or sexual orientation, if the parent has sent the school a signed confirmation that the student may attend those classes. The school may notify the parents that those classes will be taught by notifying the parent once a year. Parents may inspect all the instructional materials for those classes.
School district employees must not tell students to withhold from their parents materials and information about school classes.
Parents' and Students' Right to Privacy
Absent prior written parental consent, a school may not ask a student to participate in a survey, test, questionnaire, or evaluation that elicits information about the student's or parents' political or religious affiliations, mental or psychological problems, sexual behavior or attitudes, illegal, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior, critical appraisals of another family member, or legally privileged information. The school must give the parents prior written notice before any of these surveys are conducted. The materials must be available for inspection at least 10 days prior to the administration of the survey or test. School personnel must also be available to answer questions about the materials. This provision does not apply to tests or questions generated by a student as part of course work.
Parents' Right to Know of a Minor or Dependent Child's Personal Problems
Schools must maintain a written record regarding counseling services provided by the school to a student. The record must be available for parent review and may not be maintained with academic records. The record may not be released to anyone other than the parent or student without prior parental consent. The school must destroy those records when the student graduates or transfers to another school.
School employees may not engage in counseling techniques that are beyond the scope of their certificates.
Parents' Right to be Present During Medical Procedures Involving Their Minor or Dependent Child
A parent of an unemancipated minor has the right to be notified and to be present when the parent's child is receiving medical care, if the parent is present when the care is provided; the parent wants to be present; the child wants the parent to be present; and the parent's presence will not disrupt or interfere with the provider's ability to administer care. The section does not apply to parents under a court order limiting contact with the child. "Medical care" means any medical procedure, treatment, diagnosis, or examination that is performed by a person licensed in this state to provide health care.
Parents' Right to Obtain Their Child's Test Results for Sexually Transmitted Diseases
A parent of a minor who is tested for HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases is entitled to obtain the test results if the parent was present when the minor was tested. A parent is also entitled to information about treatment and test results when the parent is with the minor when the minor receives hospital, medical, and surgical care related to the diagnosis or treatment of a sexually transmitted disease.
Rights Not Exclusive
The act does not impair or infringe any other parental rights under other statutes, case law, or common law.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on January 23, 1996.
Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.
Testimony For: Parents have their children's best interests at heart and are the best voice to speak for decisions affecting their children. Parents do not receive enough support from the government, schools, and social service agencies. Schools fail to give notice to parents and obtain their consent before subjecting children to invasive questioning about their personal lives and the lives of their families, and subjecting them to topics such as human sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases. Aspects of schools' curriculums undermine families' moral beliefs. Children are referred for treatment for a variety of reasons, and parents are kept in the dark. This is dangerous. It is hard to obtain information about class content and materials, and parents are finding their children enrolled in experimental classes without their consent. The family unit is eroding due to divorce, a sexually permissive society, and the spread of disease. Teenagers should not be able to make life altering decisions without parental guidance. There are too many cases of well-meaning but misguided intrusion into families. More and more institutions are becoming responsible for children instead of parents. Most physical and sexual abuse is by boyfriends of single mothers, not fathers.
Testimony Against: Most families are cohesive and loving and the parents and children do communicate. However, good communication and loving relationships can't be legislated, and when children do not communicate with their parents, it is often for very good reasons such as divorce or abuse. Without the confidentiality afforded teenagers under current law, teenagers are more likely not to obtain needed treatment for diseases rather than tell their parents. They are also less likely to be honest when giving sexual history information to a practitioner if they think their parents will find out they are sexually active. Many parents are happy that their children can turn to other responsible adults for guidance if their children do not feel able to tell their parents about their sexual conduct. The bill tries to empower parents by taking power away from children and lacks compassion and respect for children. If children are responsible enough to take the initiative to get tested and obtain treatment for certain diseases, they shouldn't have barriers to access.
Testified: Representative Joyce Mulliken, prime sponsor; Sandra Swanson, Central Washington Family Alliance (pro); Joanne McCann, parent and grandparent (pro); Marda Kirkwood, Citizens United for Responsible Education (pro); Gloria Clark, Sandy Vandenburg and Julanne Burts, citizens (pro); Jeff Kemp, Washington Family Council (pro); and Mike Jones (pro); Ned Dolejsi, Washington State Catholic Coalition (pro, in part); Drs. Rob Lehman and Don Shifrin, Health Coalition for Children and Youth (con); Fred Jensen, citizen (con); Duane Stollenwirk, Sisters of Providence (con); Carol Miller, parent (con); Emily Salzberg, teenager (con); and Tracy Greenwald and Danielle Miller, citizens (con).