The San Diego Unified school board decided to change a controversial policy that had mandated that school staff contact parents if they discovered that a student was pregnant or considering an abortion, ending nearly three years of debate and uncertainty over the rules.
Planned Parenthood and other advocates for changing the rule said it brought the school district in line with state law. The new rules state that student pregnancy or other sensitive medical information is confidential. The revised policies also permit students to leave campus without notifying their parents if they need to obtain confidential medical services, which can range from alcohol counseling to abortion.
Though the revised rules were expected to be controversial, nobody publicly protested the change before the school board, which voted unanimously to change the policies.
— EMILY ALPERT