The Hamilton County Board of Education on Thursday approved a yearlong contract with a community mental health center to provide school-based services for students after a handful of people expressed concerns about the partnership.
The board voted 10-0 to pass the consent agenda, which included the memorandum of understanding with Centerstone. School board member Rhonda Thurman, R-Hixson, was absent.
Centerstone provides school-based counselors in Hamilton County and partners with more than 30 counties across the state. The yearlong memorandum of understanding gives Centerstone counselors access to school campuses to provide mental health services for students exhibiting significant emotional and behavioral challenges. Services include individual and group therapy, family counseling, classroom observations and risk assessments, as needed.
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Superintendent Justin Robertson said parents have to give approval before their child interacts with a Centerstone counselor. The partnership, which has existed for several years and is renewed annually, serves families who otherwise would not have access to such services, he said.
Board Chair Joe Smith, R-Hixson, raised the concern that a counselor may be in the classroom to observe a student, but the parent of a different student in the class may not want a therapist to be around their child.
Robertson said there are a number of district employees and partners that go into a classroom for observations. Anyone who is employed or partners with the district undergoes a full background check, he added.
He equated what a Centerstone counselor would be doing for an observation to what the district’s exceptional education case managers do for students with disabilities.
“You’re going in to observe that student in a setting that you’re not going to see in a counseling setting to see if there are things that are triggering the student or behaviors that you’re not seeing in the counseling setting that you’re seeing in the classroom setting,” he said. “They’re not interacting with any other students. They’re simply there as an observer to see that student in a classroom setting.”
Three people affiliated with the Hamilton County chapter of Moms for Liberty raised concerns about the district’s partnership with Centerstone at Thursday’s meeting.
“You’re overstepping boundaries,” Harriette Reid said. “The parents have a right to decide when and if their children are receiving counseling of any kind. Everyone has different values as to what kind of counselor they want their child to see, when they want their child to see a counselor.”
Rebecca Day said parents do not want the school system to manage their children’s mental health.
“The excessive labeling of children must stop,” she said. “Members of the board, if you approve this MOU, you are failing in your duty to prioritize the academic and overall well-being of our students. We need leaders who will stand up for our children and ensure that parental involvement remains at the forefront of any decision-making process.”
Reid and Day both asked the board to delay the vote on the memorandum of understanding.
Robertson said pushing the vote to the board’s August meeting would cut off access to students who are currently receiving services. Over the past several years, Robertson said he had not received many complaints or questions about the district’s partnership with Centerstone.
Contact Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.