“It’s time to reassert that parents should have full control of their school children’s healthcare decisions and health education.” – Dr. Kat Lindley
The Independent Medical Alliance (IMA), a national coalition of physicians, healthcare providers, and medical researchers, today released the Parents’ “Back to School” Healthcare Bill of Rights, challenging Congress, state lawmakers, and school leaders nationwide to sign onto this fundamental restatement of parental rights.
Comprised of seven key principles, the Parents’ “Back to School” Healthcare Bill of Rights is a restatement of parental rights over their children’s healthcare choices and healthcare education.
“Every parent knows how difficult that first day of school is—watching your child walk through the classroom doors and trusting that teachers and administrators will care for them as you would,” said Dr. Kat Lindley, Director of IMA’s Fellowship Program and mother of five. “But too many schools have lost that focus, which is why parents must reassert their authority over their children’s healthcare decisions and health education.”
“Across the country, parents are pushing back against school mandates, ideological agendas, and corporate interests that turn classrooms into testing grounds for profit-driven health programs, overmedicalization, and junk-filled cafeterias,” continued Lindley. “Childhood obesity now affects one in five kids, cancer rates are rising, and physical education is shrinking—while outdated nutrition guides and additive-heavy food remain the norm. Too often, parental input is ignored. That’s why we’ve launched this bill of rights.”
Tenets of the Parents’ “Back to School” Healthcare Bill of Rights include:
- Right to Vaccine Autonomy: Parents hold ultimate authority to decide on vaccinations for their children, free from school-based coercion, including School Based Health Centers, misinformation, or threats of exclusion. This safeguards against industry-driven requirements that may overlook individual health risks and family preferences.
- Right to Transparency and Opt-Out in Sensitive Curriculum: Parents will receive prior notification of any lessons on gender, sexuality, or ideological topics, along with the unconditional right to opt their children out without penalties. This ensures schools respect family values and prevent the imposition of external agendas.
- Right to Science-Based Nutrition Education: School nutrition curricula will be rooted in independent, evidence-based science, uninfluenced by food industry lobbying. It will highlight the risks of additives, GMOs, excessive sugars, and their links to youth metabolic disorders, empowering students with accurate health knowledge.
- Right to Healthy School Meals: Cafeterias will be required to provide nutrient-dense options free from high levels of sugars, artificial additives, seed oils, or pesticides. Parents have the right to review sourcing transparently and challenge menus influenced by corporate interests, promoting genuine child wellness.
- Right to Refuse Overmedicalization: Parents have the right to be informed of non-essential mental health screenings or psychiatric medications administered through schools and able to decline for their children. Schools will seek to end the overprescription trend that often medicalizes typical childhood behaviors and will instead encourage focus on underlying factors like nutrition and environment.
- Right to Physical Activity and Screen Limits: Schools will guarantee daily physical education, unstructured recess, and strict limits on screen time to combat sedentary lifestyles and digital overexposure, which hinder physical and cognitive development in school aged children.
- Right to Informed Consent for All Health Interventions: No school-initiated health program, screening, or treatment may proceed without explicit parental consent and comprehensive disclosure of risks and benefits. This upholds family sovereignty against potential governmental or corporate encroachments that could jeopardize child safety.
“Backed by tens of thousands of independent doctors and health experts, the IMA urges every state and school board to adopt this Healthcare Bill of Rights—restoring parents’ authority over their children’s health and education and putting family values ahead of outside agendas,” said Dr. Joseph Varon, IMA President and Chief Medical Officer.
The Parents’ “Back to School” Healthcare Bill of Rights will be circulated to members of Congress, governors’ offices, state lawmakers, and school boards throughout the nation, urging them to adopt this framework as their operating standard for the 2025/26 school year.
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