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A strong public education system is a pillar of a great community. It can serve as an equalizer for those coming from different backgrounds and family situations, and lead youngsters to a lifetime of accomplishments.
Parents have a role to play in the public education process -- both in helping their children become lifelong learners, and also supporting educators and administrators in their work.
Parents also have a rightful expectation that school officials will keep them informed of their children's journey through school.
That's why the Ohio County Board of Education's consensus this past Monday to temporarily pause on developing a clinic with WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital at Madison Elementary School was the right move. There's no denying the students at Madison could benefit from such a clinic, but concerns over privacy -- just what parents whose children visit the clinic would have access to, and what they might not -- raised a red flag for the board.
Current law in West Virginia could force parents to have to seek their own child's permission to view medical records from such a clinic, board member David Croft said. At a time when school districts across the country are facing backlash for what some see as wilful withholding of information from parents, it's easy to understand Croft's concerns.
"I cannot in good conscience do anything that violates a parent's right under the 14th Amendment. One of these to me is denying them access to the treatment of their own children," Croft, an attorney, said.
Board member Molly Aderholt said the district needs a solid policy before moving ahead.
"I would need to know our students wouldn't be able to seek any healthcare in our schools without their parents knowing. ... As a school system, I don't want to be in a position of keeping anything away from parents," she said.
Madison Elementary currently has an on-site dental clinic for students. Board member Erik Schramm asked the school district's counsel, Jacob Manning, to review the dental clinic's current policy, what parental notification and consent looks like, and whether it could be made more restrictive for the health care clinic.
"It is absolutely necessary for parents to be informed," added board member Pete Chacalos. "If Mr. Manning can come through with that and work through the WVU policy, and if we have a policy in place that is more restrictive -- I think it's a win-win situation as long as parents are always informed."
Board members made the right call to ensure the district has a policy in place with WVU Medicine that doesn't exclude parents from the process.