New Tennessee Law Sparks Anxiety Among School Nurses Over Potential License Risks in Student Care
Some school nurses and other education workers in Tennessee say they don’t understand the new law that says parents have to permit before a student can get medical or mental health care.
The new Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act says that the government or health care providers can’t treat, operate on, diagnose, prescribe, or provide psychological therapy to children without first getting permission from their parents unless it’s an emergency.
“A violation of this practice is an unlawful practice and is grounds for the offending healthcare provider’s licensing authority to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the healthcare provider’s license or take other disciplinary action allowed by law,” the text of the law says.
The law went into effect in July, just in time for the 2024–2025 school year. This has made some nurses wonder how much they can help kids when it’s not an emergency without getting in trouble.
“They weren’t asked what they thought,” JC Bowman, CEO of the Professional Educators of Tennessee, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “School nurses in particular.”
Bowman talks to and works with nurses, teachers, and other people in the education field all over the Volunteer State as part of his job. He thinks that some parts of the bill are good and some parts need work.
“Right now there aren’t enough nurses, and some nurses I’ve talked to said, ‘Look, I can go over to HCA and make $100,000.'” “One of them quit and went to work at the VA, where she makes about $116,000 a year, and she said, ‘I’m not doing this anymore,'” he said.
“But they love kids and become school nurses.” They love the reason they’re doing it and going there, but I think there will be a trickle-down effect where nurses, some guidance counselors, and even teachers will leave the field because they don’t want to make a mistake or do something by accident and end up in serious trouble or in court.
Bowman said that he knows other nurses who also want to quit.
Some people wonder if simple things like giving a kid a Band-Aid for a cut that is bleeding is going too far and could lead to problems since the law doesn’t say exactly what an emergency is.
The bill’s Republican sponsor, State Sen. Ferrell Haile, could not be reached for comment in time for publication. He had earlier told FOX 17 in Nashville that he doesn’t think worries that nurses’ licenses could be taken away will “play out.”
“We’re looking out for what’s best for the child.” “School nurses want what’s best for the child,” he said.
The law was meant to give parents power over their child’s physical and mental health care at school, according to the report. Haile said he is willing to change the law if more questions come up.
Another Republican, State Rep. Jeremy Faison, also spoke well of the plan. He said that it “makes it official that parents really do have the right to decide the direction of their children and their life.”
According to a different local news source, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said that the rule might need to be changed.
“You see that happen in the General Assembly a lot,” he said. “A law will be made.” There will be a change to that rule the following year. Because it’s not always possible to know what will happen, there may be another change next year.
Right now, parents have to sign a waiver before their child can get care at school that isn’t an emergency.
A report from the same source said that the Tennessee Association of School Nurses Executive Board wanted changes to that policy. They wrote, “Our recommendation for lawmakers would be to change the language from active consent to an option to opt out.”
But Republican State Rep. Kevin Raper, who also co-sponsored the bill, thinks the language is fine the way it is.
“I’m happy with the way it’s written. He told WRCB in Chattanooga, “Sometimes you can say too much, and then it opens you up to all kinds of lawsuits.”
Parents can keep an eye on their kids through other parts of the law. For example, they have to agree before any biometric data (like facial expressions, blood volume, posture, and other physiological observations) is stored or before the government records video or audio of their child. But Bowman says there’s a problem with the last part for ELL (English language learner) students.
Video tests are part of how you check a kid’s English skills when they come here to see if they’ve learned it. ELL class is where you stay until you know all the words and everything else. We record the child during the test to make sure that you have proof that the child has learned that language, he said.
“They had to have a specially-called meeting on how to deal with this on ELL kids because they’re afraid they conflict with state law now because the federal law says you have to do this, but the state law says you have to have parental permission.”
Getting permission forms read and signed as needed can be hard if the parents of the children don’t speak English.
Bowman made it clear, though, that he doesn’t truly disagree with the bill.
“We back the rights of parents. “No matter what level, we want parents to be involved in their child’s education,” he said.
Other states, like Florida, Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, Iowa, and Arizona, have rules that say school officials need parental permission before they can treat minor problems with medical care.