Sponsors propose limits on medical clinics in schools after parents raise consent concerns

Lawmakers and witnesses debated House Bill 360, a proposal to prohibit public schools from performing diagnostic tests or surgical procedures or from prescribing pharmaceutical drugs to students without parental involvement.

Sponsor overview: Representative Kristin Noble, sponsor of the bill, said the measure responds to recent growth in school‑based health centers nationwide and an expansion of services in some states. "This bill is aimed at stopping our schools from turning into health care centers," she said, citing concerns that grant funding can lapse and local taxpayers could be left supporting ongoing services and that parents may not be aware of unrelated services being performed at school.

Testimony: Supporters described instances from other states where clinics affiliated with hospitals provided a range of services, including reproductive health and prescriptions. Testifiers recounted cases in other states — described to the committee as litigation or alleged incidents — where parents said they learned later that students had received contraceptives, implants or mental‑health medications through school‑linked providers. Several witnesses urged a statutory prohibition to preserve parental consent and avoid unaccountable third‑party clinics operating at school sites.

Clarifications and scope: Sponsors and testifiers emphasized the bill is not intended to prevent routine school nursing, vision or hearing screenings or nursing care that follows a physician’s order (for example, administering insulin according to an existing medical plan). Several supporters suggested technical edits to preserve routine preventive care (a dental screening, school nurse assessments and follow‑up referrals) while banning diagnostic, surgical and prescriptive services conducted by outside providers inside schools.

Questions and next steps: Members asked how school‑based clinic arrangements are formed and who signs agreements; witnesses said clinics are typically third‑party partnerships with hospitals or community health providers and sometimes start with grant funding. Representatives sought written examples of memoranda of understanding; sponsors said they would provide sample language and suggested amendments to exclude routine screenings such as vision, hearing and dental cleanings.

What this would change: If enacted as pitched at the hearing, the bill would bar schools from allowing on‑site providers to perform diagnostic testing that leads to medical diagnoses, surgical procedures, or prescribing pharmaceuticals on students at school, preserving those activities for community medical settings with parental presence or explicit consent.