Texas Parents 'Confused' After Schools Issue DNA Kits After Uvalde Shooting
By Dani Medina
October 19, 2022
Parents in Texas will soon be provided with DNA and fingerprint identification kits "in case of an emergency."
This is part of a law passed in 2021, Senate Bill No. 2158, which requires the Texas Education Agency to "provide identification kits to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools for distribution to the parent or legal custodian of certain students," NBC News reports. The legislation was passed a year before the deadly shooting in Uvalde, where 19 children and two teachers were killed. As confusion stirs regarding the motive behind the bill, Senator Donna Campbell, the author of the original bill, released a statement to KHOU confirming Senate Bill No. 2158 has nothing to do with the Robb Elementary School shooting:
It has come to my attention that there is some confusion regarding the intent of the Child I.D. Kits currently being disseminated at schools. The Child I.D. Kits for Safe Recovery Act was passed back in 2021 to provide aid in the reunification of missing and trafficked children. My hope is that these kits provide peace of mind to parents.
The Texas public school system will provide the ink-free fingerprint and DNA ID cards to K-6 students who are eligible. Parents, however, are not required to use them. The purpose of the kits is to turn over the DNA and fingerprint identification over to authorities "in case of an emergency," including missing or trafficked children. "The law was clear though, it’s because of trafficking. We had no mass shootings where we needed identification when this law was passed," Dr. Bob Sanborn, president and CEO of advocacy group Children at Risk told KHOU.
Sanborn added the timing on the release of the DNA kits was "poor." "For this to be launched in light of Uvalde, it’s sort of macabre. I think what maybe started as a good idea a few legislative sessions ago, has turned into a very bad idea," he said.