WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Palm Beach County School Board on Wednesday plans to routinely revise its Baker Act policy for student behaviors two weeks after nine students and parents were awarded $440,000 in a federal case.
On July 5, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon in Fort Pierce entered a judgment against the district on behalf of students with disabilities, who were unlawfully handcuffed and/or removed from their school and subjected to an involuntary psychiatric examination without parental consent.
The judge did not order the district to make changes and the district said the policy changes were made because of legislative changes and minor adjustments. The district said the revisions were not made because of the judgment and not based on an admission of guilty or bcause individual plaintiffs suffered aby damages caused by the district.
The judge dismissed the institutional plaintiff, Florida Disability Rights, on the basis of lack of standing. That means they did not establish actual, concrete harm that would be remedied by the relief they requested from the Court.
At its meeting Wednesday, the school board plans to approve the development of the proposed Policy 5.20, entitled "Student Mental Health Crisis Response," which includes the Florida Mental Health Law, also known as the Baker Act. It is listed as a consent item that is included with other items for an overall vote.
"This policy requires the District implement behavioral and mental health procedures which include prevention, intervention, and postvention strategies and activities that protect and strengthen student wellness, including procedures related to data collection, documentation and analysis of data related to the District's compliance and implementation of the 'Florida Mental Health Act,' according to the policy.
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The Baker Act "focuses on crisis services for individuals with mental illness, much like an emergency department is for individuals experiencing a medical emergency," according to the Florida Department of Children and Families. An individual may be taken to a receiving facility for involuntary examination under the Baker Act under certain criteria as ordered by police, judges and mental health professionals.
The 78-page lawsuit was filed in June 2021 after the school district allegedly used the Baker Act to address student behaviors that do not meet the legal requirements for involuntary examination.
Previously, the court found that the plaintiffs had sufficiently alleged that the school district initiated involuntary examinations for students with autism, even though the Baker Act prohibits its use for developmental disabilities, like autism.
A report by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that the district involuntarily committed 1,217 students between 2016 and 2020, including 254 elementary school students.
Students younger than 8 years old were committed 59 times in four years and 5-year-old students were involuntarily committed eight times.
After the lawsuit, some policy changes were implemented. The district claims that the number of Baker Acts on school campuses has dropped by more than 80%, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The U.S. District Court held that parental consent was constitutionally required before an involuntary examination, except in the event of a “true emergency.” The revised policy does not include measures that disability rights advocates say will keep children safe from harm associated with the Baker Act, including the use of force by police.
In the new policy, school police officers shall be required to participate in training to address the Baker Act. A sworn law enforcement officer shall complete mental health crisis intervention training using a curriculum developed by a national organization with expertise in mental health crisis intervention.
The Department of Justice filed a Statement of Interest in the case in June.
The plaintiffs in the case were represented by lawyers for Disability Rights Florida, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Inc., the Pasch Law Group, King & Spalding LLP and the National Center for Youth Law.
“The Palm Beach County School district has too long refused to do what it needs to fully protect children from unlawful actions under the Baker Act,” said Bacardi Jackson, interim deputy legal director for children’s rights at the SPLC. “While we applaud the district for making some changes, we are calling on school board members to reject the current proposed policy and adopt additional changes that will make the policy comport with the law, that will address the systemic failures that were revealed in discovery and that will demonstrate its respect for the rights of parents and children.”
Advocates asked the school board to offer parents the opportunity to assist in de-escalating a student before the student is transported for involuntary examination under the Baker Act.
