Give Me a Face
Confidential medical services is a long, ten syllable phrase. We want its meaning to come alive -- and that is why we are sharing these stories and facts, about how it impacts real kids.
“Dan” attended a public school, where the staff realized he had a drug problem. They sent him to a drug counselor. Dan’s counselor told CRI that he wanted the parents involved, that he was uncomfortable continuing treatment without their knowledge, but the school refused to reveal what it was doing. As far as we know, Dan’s parents never found out about his drug counseling.
“Mary” is a school nurse who believes strongly in confidential medical release. At a school board meeting, where this policy was ultimately overturned, Mary said that she knew girls were safe when they left campus to get abortions. She had them call when they reached the abortion clinic. After returning to campus, they called her again. Their parents were kept out of the loop.
These are sample medical services that students can obtain during class hours:
· Drug counseling
· Depression counseling
· Suicide counseling
· Mental health counseling
· STD testing
· Contraceptives
· Pregnancy testing
· Surgical and medical abortions
The issue here is not whether minors can privately consult a doctor. The issue is who approves minors’ requests for leaving campus during school hours. When parents entrust their children’s educations to schools, they do not transfer their parental role to school officials.
Yet excluding parents is routine in many public schools -- and underage children are hurting, because they need their parents’ love and care in their lives. They need parents to parent
It’s time to speak up. We see that when communities take action, district policies have changed repeatedly, in favor of parents. That’s a process that needs to keep happening across the state.