We are proud to announce that Shahar Pasch as earned Board Certification in Education Law
Florida principal under investigation for paddling a six-year-old student
CLEWISTON, Fla. (CBS12) — A Florida principal is under investigation after a video surfaced of her using a paddle on a 6-year-old student in front of her mother.
Continue readingNova to require all students and staff to be vaccinated. Is it legal?
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Nova Southeastern University is believed to be the first college in the United States to require its students and staff to be fully vaccinated ahead of the fall semester.
Continue readingPalm Beach County School District ‘excessively’ Baker Acts students, study says
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A new case study by the Southern Poverty Law Center describes the sometimes harmful effects of invoking the Florida Mental Health Act, otherwise known as the “Baker Act.”
Continue readingBaker Act use on students in Florida schools is ‘costly and cruel,’ Southern Poverty Law Center report finds
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Costly and cruel. That’s what the Southern Poverty Law Center claims it found when examining the use of the Baker Act in schools throughout Florida.
Continue readingFlorida schools still aren’t required to track and report Baker Act use
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Since 2002, the number of juveniles who have undergone involuntary mental health examinations has skyrocketed throughout Florida.
Continue readingFlorida’s Schools Have Become a High-Stakes Experiment in Classroom Policing
On the morning of Aug. 30, 2019, as Hurricane Dorian was bearing down on Florida’s Treasure Coast, Jamie Seiler was at the hospital where she worked, preparing for the storm’s approach. Then her cellphone rang.
On the other end was the principal of her son’s school. The principal said her son had been escorted out of the school in handcuffs and was being taken to a psychiatric hospital in a police car.
Continue readingRepresenting Teens in Foster Care
This training focuses on issues related to the population of older children Crossroads pro bono attorneys represent. Many of our clients are teens who have picked up delinquency charges, and some clients have mental health issues.
Continue readingMisuse of Baker Act Laws by Schools Persist Statewide
We will continue to advocate against the misuse of Florida’s Baker Act laws. Handcuffing and transporting children in the back of a police car from school, as required by Palm Beach School District Police policy for every Baker Act, is a traumatic experience for a child. Parents should be informed immediately if their child is at risk of a Baker Act. Children whose parents or caregivers are available to provide help should not be Baker Acted. Elementary-aged children should not be Baker Acted. Children with developmental disabilities, whose behavior is a manifestation of their disability, should not be Baker Acted. Our schools and law enforcement should be better trained. Our children, especially our children with disabilities, deserve better.
Tampa Bay Times, by Leonora LaPeter and John Pendygraft, Published Dec. 8, 2019
Poll Shows Strong, Wide Support for School Choice, Baker Act and Students, Contract Ratified and More
Increasingly in Florida, students with autism or who are simply acting up in class are being involuntarily detained for mental health evaluation under the Baker Act, which is intended to be used by police officers and some mental health professionals for people who are having a mental health crisis. The number of children involuntarily committed has doubled in the past 15 years, to about 36,000 a year, and more than 4,000 are under the age of 10. “I’m seeing officers and administrators who use the Baker Act as a tool to get kids out of school,” said Shahar Pasch, an attorney from West Palm Beach. “It’s across the board, across the state, the whole Baker Act system is being abused.” Tampa Bay Times. Parents of students who were detained under the Baker Act share their stories.
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