This week, children in Texas are starting to take home DNA tests, distributed by schools across the US state, so that their parents can save their genetic data in case they go missing. This unusual measure, following a law approved by the Texas Senate in 2021, arouses the anger of Internet users and recalls the horrors of the killings in schools.
In 2021, the Texas Senate passed legislation under a “Child ID Program” that requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to provide all school districts with […] fingerprint and DNA home identification kits that will be distributed […] upon request, to the parents of any kindergarten, elementary school or middle school student”.
In recent days, parents of Texan students have therefore begun to receive messages from their school districts or school principals suggesting that they bring these DNA tests. “Republicans won’t pass a law to protect your children from guns, but they will make it easier to identify their bodies. This is America, ”lamented a surfer.
Texas school districts sent a notice to parents that districts will be providing DNA kits so that children can be identified in case of emergency.
GOP won’t pass legislation to protect your kids from guns, but they’ll make it easier to ID their bodies.
This is America. pic.twitter.com/UtuQ6UyGwq
— Casey (she/her) (@MamaSissieSays) October 17, 2022
This measure is not related to the killings in schools, assured Senator Donna Campbell, responsible for the law, to a local subsidiary of the conservative media Fox. Mme Campbell explains that he wants to help parents find their “abducted” children or ” victims of human trafficking ».
However, according to several Internet users, the arrival of DNA tests in schools is generating anxiety, as Texans are still traumatized by the horrors of the Uvalde shootings last May. “It’s not security, it’s alarmist,” claimed one Twitter user.
THIS IS NOT “SAFETY.” THIS IS FEAR-MONGERING.
TX giving free DNA kits to school parents—“A gift of safety, from our family to yours. Over 800,000 children are missing every year—one every 40 seconds.”
“Missing” v diff from “kidnapped” or “killed.” https://t.co/1YpJLjguDf
—Lenore Skenazy (@FreeRangeKids) October 19, 2022
The latter also criticized the packaging of a DNA test distributed in San Antonio earlier this month: “A safety gift, from our family to yours. More than 800,000 children go missing every year,” reads an envelope provided by the TEA. “’Disappeared’ is very different from ‘kidnapped’ or ‘killed’”, replied the Internet user quoted above.
Nearly four million tests will be distributed in October. Their use remains optional, as provided by law, state school districts remind in their communications to parents.