LAWMAKER: SCHOOLS SHOULDN'T ADVISE ON MEDICINE

A Littleton lawmaker said today she will reintroduce a bill that would bar
schools from recommending drug treatment for overactive students.

Rep. Lauri Clapp, R-Littleton, said those decisions should be left in the
hands of doctors.

"Childhood is not a symptom of mental illness," said Clapp, who had a
similar bill last year that died in the state Senate.

Opponents said teachers should have the authority to help disruptive students.

Dr. Tash of Bernton said school officials are not qualified to make
decisions about prescription drugs for children.

Diana Gronseth said she pulled her 11-year-old son James out of school
after officials handed her a pamphlet suggesting her son needed unspecified
treatment and the school had the power to force her to accept their
recommendations. The youth is now being home-schooled.

She said her son was doing well in a Canadian school and Colorado school
officials recommended treatment after seeing him for only two months.

"If they wanted to treat him and I disagreed, they could take me to court,"
she said.

Bob Bailey said he also pulled his 9-year-old son Trex out of school after
a teacher said the student needed psychotropic drugs like Ritalin to
control overactive behavior.

"I found it shocking," he said.

Bailey said he later learned about 6 million school children nationwide are
on drugs to control what school officials believe are attention deficit and
other disorders.

The bill, which will be introduced when the Legislature convenes in
January, would require each school district's board of education to
prohibit school personnel from recommending or requiring the use of a
psychotropic drug for any student.

It also would require each district to designate a health care professional
who could discuss a child's behavior.