Have you heard about the new buzz in education: The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model (or WSCC)?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created a framework for addressing health in schools, and many school systems have jumped on board to promote this model.

The Maury County Public School System in Tennessee appears to be utilizing this model, as are many others.

As outlined on the CDC website, “the WSCC model has 10 components:
Physical education and physical activity.
Nutrition environment and services.
Health education.
Social and emotional climate.
Physical environment.
Health services.
Counseling, psychological and social services.
Employee wellness.
Community involvement.
Family engagement.”

This framework is clearly reflected on the websites for many school systems.

These initiatives are directly tied to Title 1 funding, a grant program that provides school districts with funding to supplement and improve the instructional programs and services offered in the most high-need, at-risk schools.

Back in 2015, educational researcher Anita Hoge sounded the alarm on this medicalization of our schools:

• All students will be identified as “at-risk” allowing government access to all children under Common Core, Title I and the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act to receive mental health services, treatment and interventions.

• Psychological and psychiatric techniques will be employed to change the student’s psyche and personality to government qualities and Common Core attitudes, values, beliefs and dispositions.

• Public, private and religious schools will be required to make available equitable, identical services and interventions through CHOICE called “specialized instructional support services” and “direct student services” when Title I children are given CHOICE funds to go to the school of their choice. This will control what is taught in private and religious schools.

• A Provider 50 License is required to bill for MEDICAID for mental health wrap-around services allowing ALL students to be accessed by outside mental health providers.

• MEDICAID Early Periodic Screening and Diagnostic Testing from age 0 to 21 are federal guidelines used to promote the identification of students with Common Core mental health disabilities (the government social, emotional, and behavioral standards) that use DSM codes to bill for mental health wrap-around services.

• More tele-psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors and social workers must be hired by the schools as specialized support personnel to follow up and DSM-code the personalized re-education plan for prescriptive interventions to align the student’s attitudes, values, beliefs, and dispositions to the federal government’s standards.

• DSM codes will identify ALL students with “mental health” disabilities that are billable to Medicaid.

• Babies are included with pre-K–12 mandates.

• Codes on student records will determine what a student can or cannot do in the future.

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Fox News recently reported on a pervasive curriculum being implemented in 120 districts across the nation that follow the same CDC framework, but simply appear to have been rebranded to the “Learning 2025 Program.”

The emphasis on these programs is “social–emotional learning,” which I have written and spoken about extensively.

Gov. Bill Lee has proposed $8 million for additional school-based behavioral health liaisons across the state, but questions remain regarding what type of programs these liaisons will be using. Transparency doesn’t seem to be at the forefront, and Tennessee is clearly pushing an agenda that peddles the notion that children are property of the government.

Are parents truly okay with allowing the CDC to be a driving factor behind their children’s education?

These initiatives are threatening, but not only to public school children. Their goal is to usurp the rights of all children, including those being privately educated via homeschooling and private schools. Parents need to wake up before it is too late. Educate your elected officials at the local, state and national levels. Educate your pastors and encourage them to address this from the pulpit. America needs to wake up.

When I contacted MCPS for further clarification regarding their counseling and mental health programs and the broken links on their website, I was told I would need to submit a public records request.

One of my biggest concerns with these mental health initiatives is children being saddled with diagnoses that are almost impossible to have removed and the fact that they seem to be keeping parents in the dark.

My suspicions were confirmed when I was contacted by a parent with a child enrolled in Rutherford County Schools. This parent informed me that their child had indeed been saddled with a medical diagnosis after being enrolled in counseling sessions without their knowledge.

The parent states the school partnered with an outside vendor to provide counseling services to the school where her child attends. After attending these sessions with a social worker (School-Based Behavioral Health Liaison), the child was assigned a diagnosis.

The parent has filed a Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act complaint through the attorney for Rutherford County schools to obtain information.

How are schools getting away with this?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, clinical social workers are considered healthcare providers; (“Nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, clinical social workers and physician assistants who are authorized to practice under State law and who are performing within the scope of their practice as defined under State law,” according to its definition of healthcare provider.)

Parents, do you understand this? This means that services implemented via the school system by a clinical social worker could be considered medical records and potentially withheld from the parents.

Here is what the National Association of Social Workers has to say in its position statement regarding the school social worker and confidentiality. “The school serves in loco parentis, and shares with parents the legal responsibility for the child. This multiplicity of clients contributes to the complexity of decision-making about confidentiality for school social workers. When minors, parents, and school personnel are involved, there are many concerns about the sharing and withholding of information. The school social worker’s responsibility to maintain the students’ confidentiality must be balanced with the responsibility to the parents and to school administrators.”

I have warned parents over and over about “In Loco Parentis.” When you send your children to government schools you are giving that system legal permission to make decisions regarding your child in your absence.

I am not sure how much more information parents need before they realize that the government believes that your children are the property of the state. If you love your children, do whatever you need to do to get them out. Contact your church and encourage them to get involved in educating parents. Our nation’s children are at stake. If you need help, contact me. This is my fight.
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(Top image courtesy of Rodnae Productions / Pexels)