Reminder: School-based Health Centers: Safety Exchanged for Convenience
As another image of a parental consent form from a Louisiana SBHC goes viral, this is a reminder to READ everything before you sign it!
The latest iteration of a school based health center consent form from a Louisiana school hit social media yesterday. While this threat is new to many people, Health Freedom Louisiana has been warning about the dangers of these consent forms and these clinics for years. Parents, it is vitally important that you read every from sent home from school and know what you are consenting to. We are re-sharing our article on school based health centers below. HFL supported legislation this year to curb the threat to parental rights that these clinics hold and hope to find success with those bills next year.
Please read our article from earlier this year:
On January 19th, the East Baton Rouge school system announced the opening of a school-based health center (SBHC) at Capitol Middle School. According to the announcement on Facebook, “the Open Health Care Clinic will offer a range of comprehensive health services, including preventive care, vaccinations, treatment for minor illnesses and injuries, and mental health support. It will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The clinic visits are at no cost to families and are covered by most insurance. Open Health Care Clinic is a federally qualified health center with several locations across Baton Rouge.”
How many of you drop your children off at the doctor’s office for treatment or mental health support then pick them up later in the day?
The Louisiana legislature passed the ADOLESCENT SCHOOL HEALTH INITIATIVE ACT in 1991 which allowed the creation of school-based health centers in schools across the state. The law specifically prohibits counseling or advocating for abortion or distributing any contraceptive or abortifacient. There are currently 57 SBHCs in Louisiana with undoubtedly more on the way as the federal government and nonprofits are investing millions of dollars in these facilities.
We want to caution parents to recognize that the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries are predatory, like so many other industries, and they see our children as a line of revenue.
As we have heard politicians and legislators claim numerous times, these programs are necessary to “safeguard access and reduce disparities”, but in reality they are merely excuses to gain access to our children. They made this same argument the last several years when they attempted to lower the age for pharmacists to vaccinate children. As we argued each time, expanding access makes the procedure less safe, and the same is true for school-based health centers where parents are not present for medical exams and evaluations.
Health Freedom Louisiana became concerned with SBHCs in 2021 when a parent sent us the medical consent form they were given during a back-to-school event at a Ouachita Parish school.
The consent form states: “Age appropriate immunizations, including the FLU and HPV vaccines, will be given to bring the student up to date according to the CDC guidelines, if the student is not up to date at the time of the exam.” As no specific date for the exam is noted, this is a form of implied consent, meaning if the child is present on the day of the exam, the parent is giving consent for the exam, which may include all vaccinations, not just the ones the state requires for school attendance. Today, that would include covid vaccines since they are recommended by the CDC.
Parents are told to check beside the respective vaccine if they do NOT want their child to receive that vaccine. The form goes on to state:
“FLU is caused by influenza viruses and is spread mainly by coughing, sneezing, and close contact. Anyone can get the flu, but the risk of getting flu is highest among children. Each year thousands of people in the United States die from flu, and many more are hospitalized. This vaccine will help prevent contraction of the flu virus.”
“[HPV VACCINE] is recommended for males and females ages 11-25 years of age. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States. This vaccine can prevent most cases of cervical cancer in females, if it is given before exposure to the virus. In addition, it can prevent vaginal and vulvar cancer in females, and genital warts and anal cancer in both males and females.”
While parents are asked a few, brief family history questions, this form in no way constitutes valid informed consent and lacks a crucial component required under the federal law known as the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA). NCVIA dictates that prior to the administration of a vaccine to a minor, healthcare providers must provide the vaccine information statement (VIS) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the legal representatives of the minor.
Compare the above, brief statement about the HPV vaccine from the school consent form to the CDC’s HPV vaccine VIS:
Not included in the school consent form but included in the VIS are several crucial facts about HPV vaccination, including that “most HPV infections go away on their own within 2 years.” Also missing is important information about:
the number of doses
reactions to the vaccine including allergic reactions to a previous dose
possible reactions including fainting
talking to your provider if you have been ill or may be pregnant
what to do if you suffer a serious reaction
general information about filing a claim through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program if you suffer serious harm or death
Similarly, the flu vaccine VIS contains important information not found on the school’s consent form.
Stand for Health Freedom (SHF), a national non-profit “dedicated to informing and activating a grassroots movement to protect our health and our families,” has recently raised the alarm about SBHCs and the underlying “anti-parent agenda.”
In an informative flyer created for parents, SHF points out that “some proponents of SBHCs argue that these in-school clinics promote better access to health care for children and relieve busy parents of the burden of taking their children to the doctor.” In reality, though,
“medical ethics do not allow physicians to treat minors without a parent or guardian present, which is why parents cannot simply drop their child off at the doctor’s office and come back later to collect them.”
And, yet, that is exactly what is happening at school-based health centers.
Parents, if you are provided a blanket consent form at the beginning of the school year, we strongly recommend1 to not agree to anything. Do not hand over your parental rights, do not leave your child alone with a doctor or nurse, and continue to see your pediatrician, family physician, or other qualified health provider you trust for continuity of care for your child. A school nurse may be a reasonable accommodation for large school populations and the occasional headache or tummy ache, but as healthcare continues to encroach into the educational setting we must become vigilant to remain in firm control over our children’s healthcare.
The Louisiana legislature must protect parental rights and informed consent so that children are not harmed for the sake of convenience.
Don’t leave your family and friends without the information needed to fight for their health freedom! Click the button below and share Braving Freedom! 🇺🇸
If you find value in our work, please consider donating to us to help fund our efforts. We are 100% volunteer and do not get paid, but we give our time to research, inform, and empower others because we know it’s critical to maintaining our liberties. Parents must know their rights so they can protect their freedom.
For media inquiries, please email info@healthfreedomla.org
The materials and information contained in our substack and website are intended for informational purposes only and are not intended as legal or medical advice by Health Freedom Louisiana (HFL). Always seek advice from a physician or other qualified health provider you trust with any questions you may have.