School-Based Clinic’s Services Expanded in Union School District

by Amanda Teegarden,
Co-Founder, Oklahomans for School Accountability
August 15, 2005

The Union Public Schools’ bi-monthly magazine, The Communicator, just arrived in ‘patrons’ homes this weekend, filled with little snippets of Union activity. What is a ‘patron’? A patron is someone who is a regular customer, or in this case, a sponsor or supporter of the schools. Patrons are not just parents.

Well, we patrons have just been informed, via page 7of this latest edition, that, “Health Clinic Services Expanding to Four More Union Schools”. Quote: “The Bedlam Campus Community Health Services Program, which opened last January at Clark Elementary School, 3656 S. 103rd E. Avenue, has been so successful that it will expand its enrollment to include four more elementary schools this fall: Briarglen, Boevers, Grove and McAuliffe. Union Alternative High School will continue its participation as well.” This clinic is the result of a partnership with the University of Oklahoma and Bedlam Campus Community Health Services. “Private funding is secure for at least five years.” That was in Jan. ’05.

A school-based ‘health’ clinic, by the way, offers free medical services and ‘screenings’ to enrolled students and their families. Once a student and/or family are enrolled, the clinic becomes the PCP, or primary care provider. All medical records are then on file at the clinic.

School clinics offer comprehensive health service, including prescriptions. Individual health plans (for treatment, prevention, family planning ‘birth control’, abortion counseling, and psychological tests) are developed for each student and all family members who enroll.

A psychological evaluation can be administered before notifying a parent. (This is under the “Behavior health Services…Yes or No” option on the enrollment form. Here, ‘behavior’ does not mean conduct; it means attitudes, values, and beliefs. This is what would be evaluated. Most parents do not catch this.)

As it was explained to me by the P.A. at Clark last February, “If Johnny acts up in class several times, the teacher sends a note, or write up, via the computer to the clinic. This write up is sent on to Dr. (psychologist), who comes to the school to conduct a behavioral evaluation on Johnny, then calls the parent.” Bingo - mental health screening without a parent being present or having been asked first if they even wanted an evaluation.

Enrolled teen students, if deemed emancipated, who are looking for ‘family planning’ services or advice (birth control) – can be seen and referred elsewhere with no parent present or notification. Who needs parents when you have the school clinics?

So, the clinic at Clark has been “so successful that it will expand its enrollment.” Successful at what? Mental health screenings? What criterion was used? More teen referrals to the main Bedlam clinic for ‘services’? By whose authority did the school district decide to ‘expand enrollment’ to four more schools? A private partner?

When the private funding runs out, who is paying for this? (I smell an entitlement tax coming on.) When do we ‘patrons’ get to vote on whether we even want a school clinic in the first place?

Oh, I forgot, we do not get to vote on this type of disenfranchisement, they decide for us – just ask the Superintendents. Or ask the real patrons… The private partners... [OI Note: In this case the 'private partner' is The Bedlam Campus Community Health Services].