Getting students to sign FERPA and HIPPA waivers is the primary way the Drug Task Force believes it can increase lines of communication between students, parents and SMU.

The report states that the privacy laws have an unintended consequence of causing faculty members not to speak up if they believe one of their students is having problems. The task force wants students and parents to have a discussion about signing the waivers so that the school could directly talk with parents if they feel the need. The task force believes the waivers would increase the amount of information that could be shared about any drug or alcohol problems a student may have.

Having students sign the waivers would also allow the school to notify parents of a student’s first offense – one of the things the task force believes is needed to increase prevention efforts on the campus.

Students with drug or alcohol problems before they get to SMU would be identified through increased communication between parents and the school. The task force doesn’t say how this would occur.

The report states the goal of this is to get at-risk students involved with on-campus recovery groups or possible counseling.

Additional time at AARO would be set aside for more direct talks between parents and students about drugs and alcohol. These sessions would involve university policies, laws and other consequences of the use of these substances.

The task force believes not enough AARO sessions involve face-to-face talks about these substances.

“Parents tend to think they know more about the lives of their students than they do; students tend to overestimate their ability to manage their use of intoxicants,” the report says.