Texas Says DNA Kits for Schoolchildren Not Tied to Uvalde Shooting

Despite reports of parents concerned that the distribution of child DNA kits in Texas is linked to the Uvalde school shooting in May, the Texas Education Agency said that is simply not the case.

So, why are DNA kits being offered to parents of schoolchildren in the state, and how will the distribution and collection process work?

The effort is, in fact, the result of a law enacted in Texas that provided for the distribution of child fingerprint and DNA kits to school systems to give to families, beginning in fall of last year -- long before the tragic events in Uvalde took place, according to the Texas Education Agency.

"The kits are designed to assist law enforcement in locating and returning a missing or trafficked child and are not distributed as a means of victim identification following a mass casualty incident," the agency said in a statement provided to MedPage Today.

Though the agency said it's the first time that school systems have been involved in distribution of the kits, it also noted that Texas has had a statewide child ID program since 2006 through direct distribution to parents.

"As outlined in Texas Education Code 33.0531, the use of these kits is completely voluntary and requires parental consent," the agency said in its statement. "Furthermore, the information is kept by the parent/guardian and is not collected by the school system."

The Texas Education Agency said it is collaborating with the Safety Blitz Foundation and the National Child Identification Program as well as Education Service Centers and school systems on the effort. The kits are being distributed to families for children across kindergarten, elementary, and middle schools during the 2021-2022 school year and kindergarten during the 2022-2023 school year.

The total appropriation from the state Legislature for the program is roughly $5.7 million -- nearly $4.6 million for fiscal year 2022 and just over $1.1 million for fiscal year 2023.

Stephanie Malia Fullerton, DPhil, professor and interim chair of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, also explained to MedPage Today that this kind of child identification program is not new or created in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.

Having the samples, or kits, stay within the household rather than submitting them to a database addresses the standard ethical issue of privacy, Fullerton said.

In contrast to this kind of DNA kit, she said that one area where there has been ethical debate over DNA collection from children is the possibility of genetic testing for future health risks, or conditions that "might only manifest much later in life."

When it comes to the DNA kits designed to help locate missing children, Fullerton did note that it may not be necessary to encourage parents to collect information to have on hand just in case something happens. There would also be genetic material available from children on standard household items like hairbrushes or toothbrushes.

Fullerton said that she does have some concern that DNA kits may provide a sense of reassurance "about things that fundamentally families can never be reassured about."

Texas Education Code states the following regarding the DNA kits: "A parent or legal custodian who receives a fingerprint and DNA identification kit may submit the kit to federal, state, tribal, or local law enforcement to help locate and return a missing or trafficked child."

The Safety Blitz Foundation notes on its website that its goal is to help stem the high proportion of missing and runaway children at risk of sex trafficking. Neither that foundation nor the National Child Identification Program, which has been around since the 1990s, immediately responded to request for comment.

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