Bill for School Violence Prevention Calls for More Mental Health Evaluations

Representative Tony Bacala, Republican from Prairieville, representing District 59, has submitted a bill, HB511 which seeks to address reporting of threats of violence and mental health issues.

The legislation would address matters relative to the reporting of threats of
violence and terrorism at schools and requires mental health evaluations.

According to the digest of the bill, currently, the law does not require that teachers, principals, or other school employees report threats of violence or terrorism on school campuses to law enforcement. The present law does not require any person who threatens violence or terrorism in a school setting to undergo a mental health evaluation.

HB511 would require any school employee who learns of a threat of violence or terrorism at a school or a school-related function to report the threat to law enforcement.

“Any administrator, teacher, counselor, bus operator, or other school employee, whether full-time or part-time, who learns of a threat of violence or threat of terrorism, whether through verbal communication, written communication, or electronic communication, shall report the threat to local law enforcement.”

The proposed law provides for procedures for law enforcement upon receiving a report of a threat of terrorism or violence on a school campus or school-related function.

The legislation would require mandatory mental health evaluations for individuals who make threats of violence or terrorism at schools or school-related functions. Any individual making a threat of violence or terrorism at a school or school-related function is prohibited from being within 500 feet of the school until undergoing a mental health evaluation and being cleared by a mental health professional to do so.

“If the person who is reported to law enforcement is a minor, then the local law enforcement agency shall contact the local child protection unit of the Department of Children and Family Services. The local child protection unit shall file a motion with the appropriate judicial district court for a medical, psychological, and psychiatric examination as authorized by Children’s Code Article 760.”

Representative Bacala is a retired Deputy of the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, and attended LSU and the FBI National Academy.

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