Bill Text: MS HB985 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Parental Authority Act; create.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 7-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-02-23 - Died In Committee [HB985 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2016-HB985-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Constitution
By: Representative Criswell
House Bill 985
AN ACT TO CREATE THE PARENTAL AUTHORITY ACT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE SHALL NOT INFRINGE ON THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT OF PARENTS TO DIRECT THE UPBRINGING OF THEIR CHILDREN UNLESS THE STATE HAS A COMPELLING GOVERNMENTAL INTEREST; TO ENUMERATE CERTAIN RIGHTS THAT ARE RESERVED TO THE PARENTS OF A MINOR CHILD; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT TO DEVELOP A POLICY TO PROMOTE THE INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS; TO PROVIDE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE POLICY DEVELOPED BY THE SCHOOL DISTRICT; TO PROVIDE THAT A PARENT'S CONSENT IS REQUIRED TO PERFORM A SURGICAL PROCEDURE ON A MINOR AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS; TO PROVIDE THAT CONSENT IS REQUIRED BEFORE PERFORMING A MENTAL HEALTH EVALUATION ON A MINOR AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Parental Authority Act."
SECTION 2. (1) Any branch, department, agency, instrumentality or political subdivision of the State of Mississippi, and any official or other person acting under color of law of this state shall not infringe upon the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care and mental health of their children without demonstrating a governmental interest as to all minor children that is compelling, and that the governmental interest as applied to the child involved is of the highest order, is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by a less restrictive means.
(2) For the purposes of Sections 1 through 6 of this act, "parent" means the natural or adoptive parent or legal guardian of a minor child.
SECTION 3. (1) All parental rights are reserved to a parent of a minor child without obstruction or interference from any branch, department, agency or political subdivision of the State of Mississippi, any institution owned by one or more political
subdivisions, and any official or other person acting under
color of law of this state, including the following rights:
(a) The right to direct the education of the minor child;
(b) All rights of parents identified in Title 37,
Mississippi Code of 1972, including the right to access and
review all school records relating to the minor child;
(c) The right to cultivate the character of the minor child;
(d) The right to direct the moral or religious training of the minor child;
(e) The right to make health care decisions for the minor child, unless otherwise prohibited by law;
(f) The right to access and review all medical records of the minor child unless otherwise prohibited by law or if the parent is the subject of an investigation of a crime committed against the minor child and a law enforcement official requests that the information not be released;
(g) The right to be notified in advance and to refuse or to consent in writing for a biometric scan of the minor child to be made, shared or stored;
(h) The right to be notified in advance and to refuse or to consent in writing before any record of the minor child's blood or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is created, stored or shared,
except as required by Section 45-47-1 or Section 99-49-1 for the investigation of crimes, by Sections 93-9-1 through 93-9-49 (Mississippi Uniform Law on Paternity) or unless authorized
pursuant to a court order;
(i) The right to be notified in advance and to refuse or to consent in writing before the state or any of its political
subdivisions makes a video or voice recording of the minor
child, unless the video or voice recording is made during or as
a part of a court proceeding, by law enforcement officers during or as part of a law enforcement investigation, during or as part
of a forensic interview in a criminal or Department of Human
Services investigation, or to be used solely for any of the
following:
(i) Security or surveillance of buildings or grounds, including the maintenance of order and discipline in the common areas of a school or on student transportation vehicles;
(ii) A purpose related to regular classroom instruction or other legitimate academic or extracurricular activity; or
(iii) A photo identification card; and
(j) The right to be notified promptly if an employee of
this state, any political subdivision of this state, any other
governmental entity or any institution owned by one or more
political subdivisions, suspects that a criminal offense has
been committed against the minor child by someone other than a
parent, unless the incident has first been reported to the
police or sheriff's department having jurisdiction and
notification of the parent would impede a law enforcement or
Department of Human Services investigation. This paragraph does
not create any new obligation for school districts and charter
schools to report misconduct between students at school, such as
fighting or aggressive play, that is routinely addressed as a student disciplinary matter by the school.
(2) This section does not authorize or allow a parent to
engage in conduct that is unlawful or to abuse or neglect a
child in violation of the laws of this state. This section shall
not be construed to apply to a parental action or decision that
would end life. This section does not prohibit courts, law
enforcement officers or employees of a government agency
responsible for child welfare from acting in their official
capacity within the reasonable and prudent scope of their
authority. This section does not prohibit a court from issuing
an order that is otherwise permitted by law.
(3) Any attempt to persuade or coerce a minor child to
withhold information from the child's parent shall be grounds
for discipline of an employee of this state, any political
subdivision of this state or any other governmental entity,
except for law enforcement personnel of the police or sheriff's
department and district attorney's office having jurisdiction.
(4) Unless those rights have been legally waived or legally
terminated, parents have inherent rights that are more
comprehensive than those listed in this section. This act does not prescribe all rights of parents. Unless otherwise required by
law, the rights of parents of minor children shall not be
limited or denied.
SECTION 4. (1) The board of trustees of a school district, in consultation with parents, teachers and administrators, shall
develop and adopt a policy to promote the involvement of parents
and guardians of children enrolled in the schools within the
district, including:
(a) A plan for parent participation in the schools which is designed to improve parent and teacher cooperation in such areas as homework, attendance and discipline;
(b) Procedures by which parents may examine the course of study for their children and inspect learning materials at the
District's central office or at the school building where their
child is or will be enrolled, including the source of any
supplemental educational materials and digital or on-line
content;
(c) A procedure by which parents who object to any learning material or activity on the basis that it is harmful may
withdraw their children from the activity or from the class,
class period, or program in which the material or content is used. Objection to learning material, content, or activity on the basis that it is harmful includes an objection that it questions beliefs or practices in human sexuality, morality or religion;
(d) Procedures by which parents will be notified in advance of and given the opportunity to withdraw their children from any instruction or presentations regarding human sexuality in
courses other than a formal sex education course offered pursuant to Section 37-13-171;
(e) Procedures by which parents may learn about the nature and purpose of clubs and activities that are part of the school curriculum, as well as extracurricular clubs and activities that have been approved by the school;
(f) A procedure by which parents will be notified, prior to distribution to students of any portable digital device such as tablets, laptops or notebook computers, of any agreement, memorandum of understanding, or contract whereby the school district or board purports to consent for the supplier or manufacturer of the devices or the owner of any software programmed into the device to observe or acquire data about students' search queries, web browsing activity or history, or electronic communications.
(g) Procedures by which parents may learn about parental rights and responsibilities under the laws of this state,
including the following:
(i) The rights pursuant to Section 37-13-173 to advance notice, to preview the curriculum, to withhold or give consent for their child to attend the program of instruction and to withdraw their child from sex education instruction if the school district offers any sex education curricula for their child's grade level pursuant to Section 37-13-171;
(ii) The rights pursuant to Section 37-15-29 to transfer their child from the district of residence to a nearer school in an adjacent district if the bus ride to the school within the district of residence is farther than thirty (30) miles, to transfer their child to a school within a district that employs either parent as an instructor or certificated employee, and to transfer their child to a school district of their choosing if they are active members of the United States Armed Forces or civilian military personnel and reside on a military base;
(iii) The right to opt their child out of assignments pursuant to this section;
(iv) The promotion requirements prescribed in Sections 37-177-3 and 37-177-9;
(v) The minimum course of study and proficiency
requirements for graduation from high school established
pursuant to Section 37-16-7;
(vi) The right to review test results;
(vii) The right to have their child considered for
participation in gifted programs pursuant to Sections 37-23-173
through 37-23-179;
(viii) The right to receive a school report card;
(ix) The attendance requirements prescribed in Section 37-13-91;
(x) The right to public review of courses of study and textbooks as set forth in Section 37-43-25;
(xi) The right for their child to be excused from school attendance for religious purposes as set forth in Section
37-13-91;
(xii) Policies related to parental involvement adopted pursuant to this section;
(xiii) The right to participate in any parent-teacher association and organization approved or recognized by the board;
(xiv) The right to opt their child out of any data collection survey or instrument at the school, district, or state level that would capture data for inclusion in the state longitudinal data system except what is necessary and essential for establishing a student's public school record of academic
achievement; and
(xv) The right to withhold or give consent for the district to share personally identifiable data about their child's or the parents' religion, political party affiliation, biometric
information or voting history with the federal government or
with an entity that markets or develops commercial products or
services.
(2) The board of trustees of a school district may adopt a
policy to provide to parents the information required by this
section in electronic form.
(3) A parent may submit a written request for information
pursuant to this section during regular business hours to either
the school principal at the school site or the superintendent of
the school district at the office of the school district. Within
ten (10) days of receiving the request for information, the
school principal or the superintendent of the school district shall either deliver the requested information to the parent or
submit to the parent a written explanation of the reasons for
the denial of the requested information. If the request for
information is denied or the parent does not receive the
requested information within fifteen (15) days after submitting
the request for information, the parent may submit a written
request for the information to the board of trustees of a school
district, which shall formally consider the request at the next
scheduled public meeting of the board if the request can be
properly noticed on the agenda. If the request cannot be
properly noticed on the agenda, the board of trustees of a
school district shall formally consider the request at the next
subsequent public meeting of the board.
SECTION 5. (1) Except as otherwise provided by law, no person, corporation, association, organization, state-supported
institution, or individual employed by any of these entities may
procure, solicit to perform, arrange for the performance of,
perform surgical procedures, or perform a physical examination
upon a minor or prescribe any prescription drug to a minor
without first obtaining written consent from a parent or legal
guardian of the minor.
(2) No hospital, psychiatric hospital or ambulatory surgical
facility as defined in Section 41-7-173 nor any state hospital as defined in Section 41-17-1, may permit surgical procedures to be
performed upon a minor in its facilities without first having
received written consent from a parent or legal guardian of the
minor.
(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply when it has been determined by a physician that an emergency exists and that it is necessary to perform such surgical procedures for the
treatment of an injury or drug abuse, or to save the life of the
patient, or when such parent or legal guardian cannot be located
or contacted after a reasonably diligent effort.
(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to an
abortion, which shall be governed by the provisions of Sections
41-41-51 through 41-41-59.
(5) Unless otherwise provided by law, a person who violates a provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or by both fine and imprisonment. This section shall not prohibit prosecution under any other criminal statute of the state.
SECTION 6. (1) Except when ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, no person, corporation, association, organization or state supported institution, or any individual employed by any of
these entities, may procure, solicit to perform, arrange for the
performance of or perform a mental health evaluation in a clinical or nonclinical setting or mental health treatment on a minor without first obtaining the written consent of a parent or a legal guardian of the minor child. However, if evaluation, consultation, or treatment is conducted through telemedicine, then oral consent by the parent or guardian shall suffice provided that a health professional verifies the identity of the parent at the site where consent is given.
(2) This section does not apply when an emergency exists that requires a person to perform mental health screening or provide mental health treatment to prevent serious injury to or save the life of a minor child.
(3) A person who violates this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year,
or both.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2016.
