Editor’s Note: This story has expanded from when we first published it in June of this year. Additional warnings have been included. Parental concerns have grown as the school systems in Oklahoma hide information and presume even more authority over the precious young lives in their part-time care. Leftists hate the sovereign family.
Parents, please proceed with caution when the Oklahoma K-12 schools reconvene for the 2025-2026 school year in August. In June 2025, the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Instruction Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) completed the unlawful expansion of school-based services, into Medicaid healthcare clinics, for ALL students. Public School based primary healthcare is not education. This merging of public schools with healthcare circumvents parental supervision and potentially puts big pharma solutions on behavioral issues and alternative lifestyle choices in the hands of government bureaucrats with parents clueless.
When Oklahoma K-12 Public Schools reconvene, parents must carefully review enrollment and consent forms. The documents include important small print details about school policies including primary healthcare services known as School Based Health Care (SBHC), mental health screening, curriculum choices, parental rights and notifications.
First know your legal rights as a parent because school administrators may misrepresent their authority. Please memorize the following Oklahoma law which states, “All parental rights are reserved to a parent of a minor child without obstruction or interference from this state, any political subdivision of this state, any other governmental entity or any other institution, including, but not limited to, the following…” Click here for Universal Citation: 25 OK Stat § 2002 (2024).
Critics argue that government involvement in physical healthcare and mental health, including SBHCs, could expand federal influence in ways that might challenge certain interpretations of individual freedoms and autonomy as increased federal or state oversight in healthcare could limit parental authority, and individual decision-making.
Schools should educate not indoctrinate and until they get that done well (not yet happening in Oklahoma), any other effort is highly questionable. Insist on singular focus on teaching; reading, writing, and arithmetic.
Some worry that SBHCs might impose standardized health policies that don’t align with the values or preferences of parents. Should gender transformation or mutations, for example, be started without parental notification? What about birth control? Is that something parents should know? The broader conversation about public health policy, federalism, and the balance between individual rights and collective welfare should be considered carefully by parents. Should educators decide if your child may need pharmaceuticals?
Enrollment in SBHCs may be included in the parental consent and school enrollment forms. For this reason, please carefully read all documents. Specific attention should be given to any one-time blanket consent for the child’s entire public-school experience. If you have unanswered questions, don’t sign.
SBHCs replace your child’s family doctor and while that may be convenient in our busy modern lives, the risk of imposition of contrary values greatly change the dynamics of a family. Note that the public schools employ healthcare providers at the cheapest rates and with little individual attention and often perform without the presence of the parents.
In public schools, 14 yr. is the legal consent age. Parents must obtain their child’s permission before they can view their health and educational records. These services are broad in scope and may include, but are not limited to, vaccinations, prescriptions, mental and behavioral health counseling, gender-affirming care, reproductive counseling, and other complex topics. Doubt it could happen? In Illinois it already has, click here for the details from CBS News on Gov. JB Pritzker signing SB1560 July 2025.
Parental consent laws, especially in education, are meant to protect both students and families, but often vary by district and frequently lack clarity. In worse case scenarios, vague language in consent forms can lead to misinterpretation and expensive lengthy legal challenges.
Informed parental consent is a fundamental ethical principle. It ensures that parents or guardians have a full understanding of any decisions affecting their children and can make choices that align with their values and beliefs. Therefore, a growing number of parents are demanding OSDE write clear notification instructions, including timelines, and create a standard form allowing for a knowledgeable, voluntary, and uncoerced choice.
If OSDE fails to provide a standard form, parents must insist local school boards draft parental consent forms as noted above and engage local media to continue discussion of the entire concept of healthcare in schools.
If it is not banned outright, it must be closely monitored by parents. Failure to do so could mean a lifetime of tragedy and regret.
About the author: Deborah Campbell is a dedicated advocate, independent researcher, and the founder of No School-Based Health Services and Love My Liberties.
Based in Duncan, Oklahoma, Deborah is a wife, a mother of two adult children who received special education services, and a proud grandparent of six with a professional background in civil rights and special education law, Deborah has worked at the federal level with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, investigating cases of non-compliance in special education. In the private sector, she has served as a litigating paralegal in administrative hearings involving the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Additionally, she has worked as an independent contractor, assisting parents of children with disabilities in navigating special education law.
Her advocacy extends into grassroots activism, having organized multiple movements across Maryland, Florida, and Oklahoma focused on education, social, and political issues. As a special education consultant for ARC of Northern Virginia, she provided non-attorney advocacy services, educational file reviews, and professional resources for parents. Deborah’s volunteer experience includes CASA, the Oklahoma County Juvenile Bureau, and the Oklahoma City Red Cross Disaster Assessment Team. She has also served in emergency response roles, including as an EMT for the Glen Rock Fire and Ambulance in Pennsylvania and in the emergency room at Duncan Regional Hospital.
Deborah Campbell may be reached by email at nooklahomak12sbhc@gmail.com and more of her work is published on Substack here.