SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Youth Advisory Council met with top state leaders, seeking their endorsement and expressing concern about a new state law.
“Us speaking up can make a difference, and we’re gonna keep speaking up,” said Brandeis High School senior Victoria Jimenez.
“It’s been a huge blessing in my life to be able to be a voice for others, especially my family,” said Brandeis High School senior Eva Moreno.
Seeing domestic violence or teen dating violence in family or friends was what led Jimenez and Moreno to join the Youth Advisory Council for Family Violence Prevention Services.
“We get together once a month, and we talk about ways that we can, like, spread awareness for teen dating violence,” Jimenez said.
They also educate the community, create awareness campaigns at school, do activities with kids at the Battered Women’s and Children’s Shelter to teach them about healthy relationships, and meet with local leaders.
Then on Friday, Jimenez and Moreno made their way to the state capitol to meet with state leaders.
The teens met with the governor’s wife, Cecilia Abbott, as well as three state task forces: the state’s Child Sex Trafficking Task Force, Family Violence Homicide Task Force and the Sexual Assault Survivor Task Force.
“Our goal was for them to endorse us so we could create proper materials and education for schools in San Antonio,” Moreno said.
They also shared their strong concerns about a recent state law, Senate Bill 12, which restricts schools from offering certain health services without parents opting in.
“It’s basically saying that we cannot teach about domestic violence in schools without parent consent, which is not OK,” Jimenez said. “They are kids that are getting abused by their parents that will go to school to try and find help, and they can say anything because they don’t have the parent consent.”
“I did my own investigating and looked at the Texas Education Code and how it clearly states that students are supposed to be receiving these materials that they need,” Moreno said.
Moreno said a student at her school was unable to access the resources she needed because of the law. School districts are finding a gray area over what falls under the “health services” category and are careful not to break the law accidentally.
“All they could really do was investigate, but when she reached out for resources and help, because her parent didn’t sign the form, she was denied that help,” Moreno said. “Some parents who are the abuser might not want to sign the form because they don’t want their child or the school to know.”
They hope to get proper clarification on the Senate Bill 12.
Gov. Greg Abbott has already clarified certain other parts of the bill, stating that school nurses are allowed to hand out basic necessities like Band-Aids without parental consent.
The Youth Council said they hope Abbott will tell school districts they can separate domestic violence from other general health services, treating it more like a necessary safety issue.
They feel hopeful that they can create widespread change for kids across the whole state.
“That’s the goal! That’d be amazing, honestly,” Moreno said. “I think I’ve seen a lot of hope that this is going to be a good outcome.”
The teens said Cecilia Abbott was impressed with their presentation and may visit San Antonio soon to visit them.
“She did tell us that she was a principal, and so if she suspected something, she would go out and she would have to address it. But nowadays it’s not like that,” Jimenez said.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, there is help for you. KSAT has a list of resources on its Domestic Violence webpage, which also explains how to identify different types of abuse.
If it’s an emergency, text or call 911.
For wrap-around services including the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, call Family Violence Prevention Services at (210) 733-8810. You can also contact the Bexar County Family Justice Center, which also provides wrap-around services at (210) 631-0100.
The National Domestic Violence hotline number is (800) 799-SAFE (7233), or you can text START to 88788. You can also chat on the website. There is specific help for teen dating violence.
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