[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 45 (Thursday, March 15, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S3203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. INHOFE (for himself and Mr. Coburn):
  S. 891. A bill to protect children and their parents from being 
coerced into administering a controlled substance in order to attend 
school, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I rise today, along with my colleague, Tom 
Coburn, to proudly reintroduce the Child Medication Safety Act, a bill 
to protect children and their parents from being coerced into 
administering a controlled substance or psychotropic drug in order to 
attend a school.
  Parents today face many challenges when raising their children, one 
of which is ensuring that their children receive the best education 
possible. My views on education come from a somewhat unique perspective 
in that my wife, Kay, was a teacher at Edison High School in Tulsa for 
many years and now both of our daughters are teachers. I can assure you 
that I am one of the strongest supporters of quality education. 
However, it has come to my attention that schools have been acting as 
physicians or psychologists by strongly suggesting that children with 
behavioral problems be put immediately on some form of psychotropic 
drugs. Schools and teachers are not equipped to make this diagnosis and 
should not make it mandatory for the student to continue attending the 
school. This is clearly beyond their area of expertise. Therefore, I am 
introducing this legislation to ensure that parents are not required by 
school personnel to medicate their children.
  The Child Medication Safety Act requires, as a condition of receiving 
funds from the Department of Education, that States develop and 
implement polices and procedures prohibiting school personnel from 
requiring a child to obtain a prescription as a condition of attending 
the school. It should be noted that this bill does not prevent teachers 
or other school personnel from sharing with parents or guardians 
classroom-based observations regarding a student's academic performance 
or regarding the need for evaluation for special education. 
Additionally, this bill calls for a study by the Comptroller General of 
the United States reviewing: (1) the variation among States in the 
definition of psychotropic medication as used in public education, (2) 
the prescription rates of medication used in public schools to treat 
children with attention deficit disorder and other such disorders, 3) 
which medications listed under the Controlled Substances Act are being 
prescribed to such children, and 4) which medications not listed under 
the Controlled Substances Act are being used to treat these children 
and their properties and effects. This GAO report is due no later than 
one year after the enactment of this Act.
  I believe this is an extremely important bill that protects the 
rights of our children against improper intrusion regarding health 
issues by those not qualified. If a parent or guardian believes their 
child is in need of medication, then they have the right to make that 
decision and consult with a licensed medical practitioner who is 
qualified to prescribe an appropriate drug. Please join us in support 
of this legislation that protects the freedoms of our children.
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