"Without Parental Consent" - The New Government M.O.

On May 22 and 23, 2013, three schools in Polk County, Florida, performed iris scans on students in a high school, a middle school and an elementary school as part of a new security program being implemented by the school board.  The Polk Country School Board hired Stanley Convergent Security Solutions to perform the scans on children as young as 6 years old.  There was one major problem however – the school board didn’t notify parents until May 24^th, two days after the scans had been completed.  The scans were all completed on the students without parental consent.

A letter from the school board to the parents was supposed to be sent out before the scans were taken however, "due to a secretary having a medical emergency," the letters were sent to parents after all scans were completed.  Parents received the letters from their children on Friday afternoon after 3pm.  When they called the school to ask about the scans the phones went unanswered.  Due to the long holiday weekend, it was Tuesday before they could obtain any information.  At that time they were told the program had been cancelled.  When asked about the actual scan results and who was in possession of them, the school board stated that the security company had “been instructed to destroy them.”  There is no confirmation that the destruction actually took place.

Principals of the schools have said they did nothing wrong but were merely following the instructions of the school board.  (Gee – why does that sound familiar…?)  Many parents are outraged by the school board’s blatant disregard for parental consent and are considering suing the school board.  The school board has contacted their attorneys for guidance.

This comes only about 8 months after the school board in New York City approved schools handing out “morning after” pills to girls as young as 14 without parental consent.   Supposedly in the best interest of the child (preventing teen pregnancy) the morning after pill program is just one more way the government is aggressively intruding into the lives of Americans and taking away parental rights.  Since when does the government have the authority to decide non-emergency health care issues for a child? 

The most common excuse is “Teenagers are going to have sex regardless of what society or their parents say.  This will prevent unwanted pregnancies.”  But since sexual contact with a child under the age of 16 is statutory rape in every state in the union, should the government really be making it easier for them to do it without fear of consequences?

One other is concerning the safety of the morning after pill…  safety.  To my knowledge there is no medication on Earth that has no side effects or to which someone cannot have an adverse reaction.  So how is it that school officials can hand out medications to children without access to their complete medical history and without a doctor’s approval?  How odd is it that in a city which tried to outlaw 32 ounce soft drinks because they’re dangerous to the health of its citizens, a child can get medications from their schools, without parental consent, and that’s OK.  New York gets curiouser and curiouser….