Under a bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Morley, teachers would be prohibited from recommending to a parent that he or she seek behavioral treatment or psychotropic medication for a student. It also bars schools from reporting to the state's Division of Child and Family Services

(DCFS) a family's refusal of such treatment.

But the most controversial provision would prevent DCFS or a juvenile court judge from removing a child solely on grounds that a parent rejects behavioral evaluation or treatment of a child.

"I'm not opposed to medication. It's just critical that a parent be the key driver in deciding whether to prescribe these drugs that sometimes don't work and have harmful side effects," Morley said. "It's not right for parents to be strong-armed or given ultimatums by authorities."

The bill is a tweaked version of legislation that passed the 2002 Legislature but was vetoed.

Ritalin, in use since 1955, is often prescribed by doctors to correct attention deficit disorder, which makes it difficult for a person to stayed focused. The disorder is marked by impulsivity, a short attention span and hyperactivity.

State health statistics show the drug is not disproportionately prescribed in Utah. Nationally, some mental health experts have complained that the drug is overprescribed.

But Morley, backed by Scientologists, said he has heard "secondhand stories" of teachers playing doctor, pressuring parents into drugging "hard-to-handle" children and reporting families who resist to DCFS.

Critics of the legislation call it overkill and fear it will prevent the state from protecting suicidal or severely emotionally disturbed children who aren't getting the help they need and pose a threat to themselves or others.

DCFS officials couldn't say how many medical neglect cases arise from a parent's refusal to provide psychiatric or psychological care for a child.

But Adam Trupp, DCFS legal counsel, said the state would never intervene based solely on a parent's refusal to administer a certain drug.

"We're not proponents of any type of medication," said Trupp. "The question is, are the parents working to find a solution and is it helping?"

Trupp will meet with Morley on Friday to discuss amending the bill.

But Karen Crompton, director of Utah Children, questions the logic of "creating legislation to solve a nonexistent problem."

State Board of Education rules already bar school personnel from demanding that a child take a psychotropic drug as a condition for attending school and from referring a parent to a specific licensed physician, psychologist or other health specialist.

The rules came after lawmakers approved anti-Ritalin legislation in 2002, which then-Gov. Mike Leavitt vetoed because it was at odds with federal laws that require educators to identify and to help kids with disabilities.

Morley said his bill doesn't interfere with federally protected Individualized Education Plans that schools draw up with parents to guide special-education students. The measure also explicitly allows teachers to discuss a student's behavioral problems with parents.

kstewart@sltrib.com