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Committee advances opt-in school mental-health screening bill with confidentiality limits
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Summary
The House Education Committee reported Senate Bill 121 favorably after adopting amendments requiring Department of Health screening tools, parental opt-in consent, a prohibition on metadata collection, and a required disclosure of the screening tool on consent forms. The committee voted 10–1 to send the bill to the floor.
The House Education Committee on Tuesday advanced Senate Bill 121, which would authorize local school systems to offer mental-health screenings for students if parents opt in. The committee approved a set of amendments that clarify the Department of Health’s role, confidentiality protections, and parental notification requirements.
Sen. Royce Selders, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee the measure creates “a tool in the toolbox” for parents and schools and is not a mandate. Under the bill as amended, the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) would select and provide screening tools at no cost to local school boards that elect to use them, and school systems would be authorized (not required) to offer screenings if they approve funding.
The committee adopted language specifying that if a screening “indicate[s] a potential mental health condition,” the school would notify the student’s parent or legal guardian and provide resources. The bill states records of screenings shall be held confidential and destroyed after 30 days; committee members debated how notification and confidentiality would work in practice. Representative Carlson noted a potential tension: "How is the school going to notify the parent if the record is confidential and the school doesn't have access to that?" An author representative explained notification would typically come from the professional who administered the screening.
Members also added a committee amendment prohibiting schools or third-party vendors from collecting metadata when conducting screenings, and another amendment requiring the consent form to identify which screening tool will be used. A separate proposed amendment that would have required parents the opportunity to review the screening instrument failed on a roll call vote.
Bruce Riley of VOTE and other advocates supported the measure during testimony, saying early identification can connect families to care. Several committee members said they favored advancing the bill to the floor and refining remaining language there; the committee voted 10–1 to send SB121 to the House floor.
