Tag Archive for: Florida Mental Health Act (Baker Act)

, , , , ,

Jennifer Webb Files Legislation to Curb ‘Unnecessary’ Baker Acts in Florida Schools

Rep. JenniferWebb is responding to recent reports of children being sometimes unnecessarily removed from school under Florida’s Baker Act over incidents school officials or law enforcement officers deem unsafe to the student or others. Webb’s…
, , , , ,

Florida’s Flawed Baker Act Rips Thousands of Kids from School

Over the past seven years, children have been taken from public schools in Tampa Bay more than 7,500 times and temporarily placed in mental health facilities. They often leave campus handcuffed in the back of police cruisers. Some are as…
, , , , ,

Parents Say 10-Year-Old Son with Autism was Handcuffed, Put in Patrol Car

Parents of a 10-year-old boy who has autism say the child was handcuffed, put in the back of a patrol car and transported to a mental health facility after he ran from school administrators. According to a federal lawsuit…
,

Child Baker Act Cases Continue to Climb in Florida

Florida has once again broken the records for the number of people mentally evaluated, involuntarily, under the state’s Baker Act. In May, investigative reporter Karla Ray first exposed that child Baker Act cases have more than doubled…
, , , ,

Schools Could Have Done More for Shooter Nikolas Cruz, Experts Say – The Orlando Sentinel

Some special education experts have criticized Broward County Public Schools' failure to adequately treat Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 people during a school shooting in Parkland. Read more.
, , , , , , , ,

Handcuffs and a Psych Exam for a 7-Year-Old? Schools Do That Too Often, Parents Say – The Miami Herald

Some parents have expressed concern that Florida schools are using the Baker Act too frequently. Many children who are Baker Acted do not meet the criteria for involuntary psychological evaluation. Read more.