Psychiatric Abuse in NJ Schools

Psychiatric Abuse in NJ Schools

Superintendent Glenn Kamp said "any time a student threatens someone, they
are immediately suspended and must undergo a psychiatric evaluation before they
are allowed back in the school." (BARBARA WILLIAMS, "West Milford teacher may
lose job," The Record, May 4, 2007) Under what system of mental health care is
psychiatry punishment?
Does the school system believe that mental illness is a cause of crime or
violence? If an allegation of mental illness is made the schools must protect
the student against disability based discrimination. It does not matter if the
student in fact has a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. What
matters is that the government has that perception.
Moreover is the school system stereotyping the student that they accuse of
having a disabilty violates state and US laws, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, etc.
All too often school
administrators use psychiatry to control students. Their regulations show that
the schools have unlawful regulations.
Psychiatry is a means of social control with no due process protections. It
is a system of personal opinion masquerading as science. But their illnesses
are created by consensus not science. Here the teacher is not being protected
from criminal threats. The administtarors usadministratorsnstead of the criminal
justice system. It is what the Nazis did, i.e., medicalize social problems.
There is no appeal from a medical diagnosis.

Roy Bercaw, Editor ENOUGH ROOM
Cambridge MA USA

West Milford teacher may lose job
Friday, May 4, 2007
By BARBARA WILLIAMS
The Bergen Record
STAFF WRITER
WEST MILFORD

A high school teacher may lose her job in a battle with the administration over
who should discipline poorly behaving students.

Cheryl Bachmann is claiming the decision to offer her tenure was reversed after
she fought to have a female student permanently removed from her class. She said
the teen was heard screaming in the hallways of West Milford High School using
expletives and threatening to stab her after Bachmann told her to leave the
class for using inappropriate language.

Administrators are saying it's ludicrous to think the district doesn't take
threats seriously. Rather, a memo states that Bachman will not be rehired
because of poor management skills. Superintendent Glenn Kamp said anytime a
threat is made, an established protocol is immediately followed.
[...]
E-mail: williamsb@northjersey.com