Photo: TikTok
The school's action was completely legal.
By Sanika Nalgirkar — Written on Jul 05, 2022
One father was shocked after learning that his son’s school had been prescribing him anti-depressants without telling him.
A man from Washington shared a TikTok video where he explained that his 15-year-old son’s school had called him because his son hadn’t picked up his anti-depressants from the counselor’s office.
But the father was never informed that his son was prescribed the anti-depressants.
After the man received the call from the school, he proceeded to tell them that his son wasn’t on anti-depressants and didn’t need them.
The man said, “They proceed to tell me that they had a psychiatrist come to the school and give my kid anti-depressants.”
The counselor further notified him that his son had been using anti-depressants for several months.
The man clarified in the video that he had no idea that his son’s school had been doing this. He also found out that this practice is considered legal in Washington state.
State law states that children 13 or over can seek treatment for mental health, substance abuse or withdrawal management without parental consent.
The law is intended to protect children who need vital treatment but feel uncomfortable or unsafe telling their guardians. However, the father raised concerns that the law may mean parents have no say in their child's treatment.
Internet users had mixed reactions to the man’s story.
People were also outraged after knowing the man’s story and claimed that he was right to be angry at the school.
One user wrote, "They should be required to ask you permission, if you refuse the counselor should go to CPS, but it shouldn't be w/o the parent's knowledge."
Another user wrote, "So scary! Especially since you wouldn’t know to look for adverse effects since you didn’t know they were taking them!"
However, many other people thought this practice to be right and thought it was for the school to do so.
One user wrote, “(I'm a therapist) the age of consent for treatment in WA state is 13. So technically it's legal that your child/the school didn't disclose this to you.”
Another user wrote, “I’m a teenager in Washington state and I know exactly where he’s coming from, your reaction to this is the reason he hid it in the first place.”
The son thought his father knew about the anti-depressants.
In response to all the comments, the man posted another video in which he talked about why he was angry.
He addressed the several comments that mentioned why his son didn't reach out to him. The man mentioned that he had been in regular contact with the school so his son thought he knew about it.
He said, “He didn’t tell me because I had a really good line of communication with the school. I got the receipts, we were emailing every week because he’s on an IP. I was talking to his case manager.”
He also expressed that the school could have kept such things from the parent if the child was experiencing any abuse at home, but that wasn’t the case here.
He also mentioned that his son could have been allergic to the medication or had other medical issues.
At the end of the day, he felt he should know about what his son consumes as he's the parent. He said, “It’s not their kid to give a prescription to so I wholeheartedly believe they should’ve told me.”
Sanika Nalgirkar is a news & entertainment writer at YourTango based in Seattle, Washington. She has a master's degree in Creative Writing from the University of Washington. You can check out some of her writing on her website.