The School District 49 board unanimously passed a resolution opposing a bill that seeks to establish a mental health screening program for sixth through twelfth grade students in Colorado public schools. The board’s move on Thursday responds to a bill it says violates parental rights.

According to the latest version of House Bill 23-1003, students would be issued “a brief, structured questionnaire.” Screeners would use the results within 24 hours to determine which students need additional mental health services and to provide them with appropriate resources and referrals, according to the bill.

Parents could opt their children out of the screening, but children 12 years or older could override their parents’ decision by opting themselves back in. Information collected during the screening would be subject to HIPPA.

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The bill “seeks to usurp” parental authority by making the state a decisionmaker regarding children’s safety and welfare, according to the board’s resolution.

“One of the rights that the Supreme Court has repeatedly held to be a fundamental right protected under the Fourteenth Amendment (deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition and implicit in the concept of ordered liberty) is the right of parents to control and direct the education and general upbringing of their own child. This Board stands in support of the right of parents to be the authority in the education of their children,” the resolution reads.

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Language in the bill is likely to change as it continues through the legislative process, according to District CEO Peter Hilts. Should it pass, a months-long process will follow in which the Department of Education will generate rules governing the program. At that point, Hilts said the district could explore whether and how to withdraw from the program entirely.

“I’m worried about the mental health and wellbeing of students and their education, but I think parents have to be involved,” board President John Graham. “We have to make sure that this bill does not have unintended consequences where the school district becomes the end-all for the student and takes that right away from the parent.”

The board also announced it plans to interview superintendent candidates on April 20. More information will be provided regarding the finalist or finalists following those interviews, which will be conducted in executive session.

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