I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2220 

To permit educational agencies and institutions to disclose certain information 

to parents of students who may pose a significant risk to their own 

safety or well-being, or to the safety or well-being of others. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2007 

Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. REYES, Mr. BACA, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. BONNER, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, Mr. KUHL of New York, Mr. GINGREY, 

Mr. MCCOTTER, Mrs. SCHMIDT, Mr. HAYES, Mr. CONAWAY, and Ms. 

FALLIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To permit educational agencies and institutions to disclose 

certain information to parents of students who may pose 

a significant risk to their own safety or well-being, or 

to the safety or well-being of others. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mental Health Secu5 rity for America’s Families in Education Act of 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Many young adults experience symptoms of 

4 mental illness. A 2006 survey by the American Col5 lege Health Association reports that nearly 15 per6 cent of students in college are diagnosed with de7 pression. One in 4 adults experience symptoms of 

8 mental illness in their lifetime, according to the Na9 tional Institute of Mental Health. 

10 (2) The American College Health Association 

11 reported in a 2005 survey of college students that 

12 11 percent of women and 9 percent of men have 

13 considered suicide. According to a study by the Sui14 cide Prevention Resource Center, suicide is the sec15 ond leading cause of death among college students. 

16 (3) Many youth and young adults with mental 

17 illness are exposed to bullying, harassment, mal18 treatment, and social alienation by other students 

19 and adults, which can exacerbate their conditions. 

20 (4) In 2005, a national survey of Counseling 

21 Center Directors reported a 14 percent increase in 

22 severe psychological problems (including self-injury) 

23 among students during the period from 2000 to 

24 2005. 

25 (5) According to a 2003 report by the Bureau 

26 of Justice Statistics, out of the 7,700,000 college 


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1 students in the United States, 526,000 students ex2 perienced violent crimes (rape, robbery, aggravated 

3 assault, and simple assault). A significant percent4 age of students involved in violent crime may also 

5 have symptoms of a diagnosable mental illness. 

6 (6) Years of research findings have concluded 

7 that mental health services provided by properly 

8 trained professionals can be effective in the treat9 ment of mental illness. Withholding referrals and 

10 treatment, however, can be detrimental to the recov11 ery and prognosis of patients. 

12 (7) Confidentiality is the cornerstone of the 

13 doctor-patient relationship, but when there is a sig14 nificant risk to the health or safety of a student or 

15 others (including suicide, homicide, or physical as16 sault), it may serve the best interest of the student 

17 to inform persons who can provide the necessary 

18 help to protect the student, fellow students, and oth19 ers. 

20 (8) Common symptoms of mental illness include 

21 impaired judgment, confusion, emotional disorders, 

22 social withdrawal, and impulsivity, all of which limit 

23 a person’s ability to make rational decisions regard24 ing their own care and treatment. 


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1 (9) Parents and legal guardians of a student 

2 may be in the best position to supply essential help 

3 to a student suffering from significant mental ill4 ness, by providing emotional support, medical his5 tory, coordinating care with various mental health 

6 and medical professionals, and long term follow-up. 

7 (10) The Federal Government, in recognition of 

8 the value of the parental role in the treatment of 

9 children, requires that a parent must be involved in 

10 every level of the evaluation and treatment decisions 

11 regarding a special needs child in a school setting. 

12 However, the value of parental involvement should 

13 not end when a student has attained 18 years of 

14 age. 

15 (11) The Family Educational Rights and Pri16 vacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 was originally intended 

17 to protect the confidentiality of student grades and 

18 records. Exceptions in FERPA to the confidentiality 

19 requirements permit the release of records ‘‘in con20 nection with an emergency, to appropriate persons if 

21 the knowledge of such information is necessary to 

22 protect the health or safety of the student or oth23 ers.’’ The unintended consequence of FERPA, how24 ever, is that school personnel, administrators, and 

25 teachers who have little or no training in mental 


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1 health and mental illness are burdened with defining 

2 and determining if a student is at risk. These edu3 cational personnel are reluctant to release informa4 tion to parents for fear of legal action. These issues 

5 create barriers and delays for informing families 

6 even when schools are concerned that students may 

7 be a risk to themselves or others. 

8 (12) It is important, compassionate, and essen9 tial that laws should facilitate, not inhibit, parent10 child communication that aids proper treatment for 

11 mental illness when deemed appropriate. 

12 SEC. 3. MENTAL HEALTH DISCLOSURES FOR STUDENT 

13 SAFETY. 

14 The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 

15 1974 (20 U.S.C. 1232g) is amended by adding at the end 

16 the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(k) MENTAL HEALTH DISCLOSURES FOR STUDENT

18 SAFETY.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

20 provision of this section or the Higher Education 

21 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), and subject 

22 to paragraph (2), an educational agency or institu23 tion of higher education may disclose, to a parent or 

24 legal guardian of a student who is a dependent (as 

25 defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code 


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1 of 1986), information related to any conduct of, or 

2 expression by, such student that demonstrates that 

3 the student poses a significant risk of harm to him4 self or herself, or to others, including a significant 

5 risk of suicide, homicide, or assault. 

6 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION BY A LICENSED MENTAL

7 HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.—An educational agency or 

8 institution shall not disclose any information under 

9 this subsection that is not otherwise authorized to be 

10 disclosed under this section unless the educational 

11 agency or institution— 

12 ‘‘(A) with respect to the conduct of, or ex13 pression by, a student described in paragraph 

14 (1), consults with a mental health professional 

15 who— 

16 ‘‘(i) is approved by the State in which 

17 the educational agency or institution is lo18 cated and who is licensed by the appro19 priate entity to provide mental health serv20 ices and treatment; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) is acting in accordance with the 

22 ethical and professional standards gov23 erning such professional; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) obtains a written certification from 

2 such professional that the professional has rea3 son to believe— 

4 ‘‘(i) that such conduct of, or expres5 sion by, the student demonstrates that the 

6 student poses a significant risk of harm to 

7 himself or herself, or to others, including a 

8 significant risk of suicide, homicide, or as9 sault; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the possession of the knowledge 

11 of such information by the parent or legal 

12 guardian of the student may protect the 

13 health or safety of the student or other 

14 persons. 

15 ‘‘(3) DEPENDENT STUDENTS.—Notwith16 standing subsection (d), an educational agency or in17 stitution of higher education may disclose informa18 tion to a parent or legal guardian of a student who 

19 is a dependent (as defined in section 152 of the In20 ternal Revenue Code of 1986) for the purposes of 

21 and in accordance with the requirements of this sub22 section, regardless of whether the student has at23 tained eighteen years of age, or is attending an insti24 tution of postsecondary education. 


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1 ‘‘(4) PROTECTION OF EDUCATIONAL AGENCY

2 OR INSTITUTION.—An educational agency or institu3 tion that, in good faith, discloses education records 

4 or other information (including records described in 

5 clauses (ii) or (iv) of subsection (a)(4)(B)) in accord6 ance with the requirements of this subsection shall 

7 not be liable to any person for that disclosure. 

8 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

9 this subsection shall be construed to prohibit an edu10 cational agency or institution from taking such other 

11 action as the agency or institution determines to be 

12 necessary to protect the safety of students.’’. 

Æ 


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