Student mental health may not remain private

(U-WIRE) LINCOLN, Neb. — In light of the events that occurred at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, some government officials want to make it easier for universities to talk to the parents of students who may have mental health issues.

Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., introduced the MH-SAFE Act, which would amend the current Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.

As it stands, FERPA allows “educational agencies and institutions to disclose certain information to parents of students who may pose a significant risk” of harm to themselves or to others in case of emergencies.

FERPA is open to interpretation and has led to confusion among schools.

Murphy said many schools have differing policies on disclosing information out of fear of lawsuits, and rather than talking to parents, they end up talking to lawyers.

The legislation would make it easier for colleges to relay information to parents regarding students’ mental health conditions without the college fearing a lawsuit and without the confusion.

“With existing law, the current burden is unfairly placed upon the college personnel to make decisions for something they aren’t trained with,” Murphy said in a phone interview. “If a professor of history or agriculture hears about a student with serious problems and thinks that student may be harmful to himself, the decision is left up to them to tell someone.”

If it is not an emergency, FERPA does not allow parental notification.

“Schools are afraid of being sued,” Murphy said. “My point is to make a mechanism so schools don’t have to be afraid of lawsuits.”

But some people, like Dr. Bob Portnoy, director of Counseling and Psychology Services at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, disagree with the proposed legislation.

“It’s unnecessary because I think it makes things more difficult and more complicated,” Portnoy said. “We have FERPA already in existence, and FERPA allows for the kind of intervention necessary when we have students who are either at risk themselves or are placing others at risk.”

UNL has a procedure set in place regarding students who seem to pose a threat; this does follow FERPA regulations, said Officer Jim Davis of University Police.

“UNL has a threat assessment team in place where the police department works with the psychology department if threats come to our attention,” Davis said.

Nebraska Rep. Lee Terry believes there is a lot of confusion regarding the issue.

“I would have to respectfully disagree with the psychologist from your school,” he said. “Privacy laws are very clear that mental health professionals are not able to communicate to anyone other than the patients without expressed written consent.”

Terry said the new legislation clarifies that if there is a mental health issue with a student, the health professional can call the parents.

Kaitlin Slye, a freshman interior design major at Virginia Tech, said she thinks the proposed legislation is a good idea. Though she did not attend Virginia Tech last spring, her brother did, and she believes this measure could be beneficial.

“This will help the parents to be more involved in the kid’s life and help them through that,” Slye said. “This will allow parents to get to the problem before an emergency situation occurs.”

Many people seem to think this will completely change FERPA and make it harder to act in cases of emergency; in reality, it would just help the universities find a way to thoughtfully take action, Murphy said.

“This has nothing to do with when there is an emergency,” he said. “If there is one, then the faculty should contact whomever necessary.

“If someone says, ‘We have a problem, we think a student is suicidal tonight,’ then you need to take appropriate action right away.”

The bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives and is before the Education and Labor Committee, but is not yet in the Senate.

“It will take an act of Congress to clarify these types of situations involving the mental health situations and parents being notified,” Terry said. “It seems like Congress created this problem and Congress has to fix it.”

Terry and Murphy both said the legislation has gained a lot of support and they are optimistic about the outcome.

“What if someone you knew from school had serious problems?” Murphy said. “Would you want the school saying, ‘We can’t get involved,’ or ‘We can help’?

“Schools are searching for a way to solve this problem, and this bill would do that.”

By Erika Hepburn

Daily Nebraskan (U. Nebraska)

Posted in News