Anti Fed Ed Warriors, we know there’s tremendous amount of overreach into our schools. We know, since ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act), that the overreach doesn’t stop at the textbook.
Much has been written about the mind-grab; the mental health labels; the sheer amount of abuse being carried out in our schools and THROUGH our schools.
What do I mean?
Not everyone who’s been caught up in the mind-grab/mental health labeling is a public school child. Some are too young or too old to be in the public K-12th system; others are outside of the public system altogether, but, due to umbrella programs and after-school activities, the overreaches are funneled through these. We also know that entire families are being held almost captive to this system with ‘wrap around services for student success’.
One of the main things are States are doing to ‘dance to the ESSA tune’ is to create laws for MORE school mental health professionals and social workers. If you read my article a couple of days ago, you may remember the lion’s share of the $649 billion spent on public education is for teachers and professional staff. So much is being re-directed to ‘other school professionals’ that other much MORE needed programs are cut or eliminated.
My point? Like other Anti Fed Ed Warriors and concerned taxpayers is that medical services do not need to be inserted into our schools. Schools are supposed to be institutions of learning, not medicating or psychiatric wards.
*As always, on a topic like this, I need to state that I am NOT anti-mental health services or social work services, but as a Mom and a taxpayer, I know those services need to be separated from education. I also know as important as these services are, they should be 100%, they should be staffed by 100% qualified professional with real degrees and not fast track credentials.
What ESSA and the CCSS Machine HAS done to ‘medication’ (medicine + education = medication) is turn our schools into what Anita Hoge has called ‘quasi hospitals’. Talk to parents from around the nation and you’ll see her research proving this is spot on.
Warriors, you need to know that social workers also use the DSM in treating clients.
Meet HR 1532:
Warriors, this 116th Congressional bill is titled the “Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act”. It’s sponsor is Rep. Lee (CA). Rep. Lee is one of the social workers in Congress who also sits on the Congressional SW (Social Workers) Caucus.
Basically, the Bill sets up a new national, federally controlled Commission (independent from Congress and the U.S. Dept. of HHS, Health and Human Services) for policy moves in the social work sector. Warriors, remember, policy is the interpretation of law, NOT the law itself. Whomever, or, whatever group in charge of policy, gets to set the agenda.
Of special note concerning HR 1532:
a) From the Contents: Sect. 203 ‘reinvestment grants’ to States (from the Feds) for the social work profession.
b) Page 7, Children’s Defense Fund/ NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) cited information
c) Page 8, Community based programs.
d) Page 11, CSWE (Council on Social Work Education) is the ONLY acknowledged group for the profession by the Council for Higher Education.
e) Page 13, begins the federal level commission layout (ends on Page 20).
f) Sect. 201, federal grants to support social workers.
g) Sect. 203, begins; social work education/training grants.
h) Page 28, the Social Work Commission will contract with a national social work entity (either the National Assoc. of Social Workers or the Council on Social Work Education, CSWE) for all policy-making.
i) Page 29, P3s (public private partnerships) and collaborations in social work and through social work.
Related resources:
1) The Congressional Bills to push more mental health professionals in education.
2) The family ensnared in wrap around services tied to mental health/health services, thanks to ESSA.
3) The States implementing mental health overreaches and staffing them via legislation.
4) To see the entire group of Congressional members (116th) for the Social Work Caucus, go here.
5) To see the State and local level politicians who are also social workers, go here.
6) If you’d like to learn how social workers are incorporated into your schools and school related services, visit the (NASW) National Assoc. of Social Workers ‘school’ page.
7) The most recent Annual Report for the Council on Social Work Education is a real eye opener if you’re concerned about globalization of our health care, social justice issues, and gender identity.
8) The Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy should also be on ‘your radar’ for federal overreaches into education.
9) See below:
(Source=National Alliance of Specialized Instructional Support Personnel); be sure to look at the last page where you’ll see the AFT (American Federation of Teachers) and the NEA (National Education Assoc.) are partners, as well as the NASW and CSWE. As we know, Warriors, the AFT and NEA are CCSS Machine members.)
10) From 2017, and my blog archives, the NASW supported ESSA’s use of SEL (social emotional learning) and biometrics on our students.
11) To see the CSWE and NASW’s partnership, go here.
Closing:
Warriors, I hope you can see that HR 1532 would further ‘stack the deck’ in favor of federal overreaches into our minds. Especially the minds of our students. Take into consideration that for all this partnershipping in the name of behavior/mental health, massive amounts of data will be needed, lots of tests and assessments will be in order as well. When you also consider that only ONE group will be in charge of ALL policies related, this should be a huge warning sign for us.
We must protect our children’s mental health! We must have a place at the ‘table’ when it comes to who treats our students, how qualified they are, and, what nationalized standards are involved.
There should be ZERO nationalized standards in education OR education related supports!
“Schools are supposed to be institutions of learning, not medicating or psychiatric wards.”
I contend that one of the main problems with the teaching and learning process as it has developed over time in public schools through the standards and testing malpractice regime is that it has resulted in the “medicalization” of the teaching and learning process wherein teachers now do not focus on teaching and learning but on “diagnosing” abnormalities (through false and invalid standardized test results) and then attempting to “cure” the student of those abnormalities or at least bring them closer to the norm. Instead of helping students develop to their potential, as determined by the student and his/her parents/guardians, the schools have taken it upon themselves to determine that path for the student through various bastardized versions of standards and testing malpractices.