Santa Monica : Health Clinic Approved

The idea of establishing a high school health clinic received unanimous approval from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board Monday, but the scope of such a facility remains unclear.

The board had previously avoided discussing the kinds of services the clinic at Santa Monica High School would offer, fearing a debate over birth control would jeopardize it.

But at Monday’s meeting, board President Patricia Hoffman agreed with three students who spoke of the need for sex education. “Looking at health services on campus is another way of protecting our children,” Hoffman said, after citing figures on unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases among youths.

“Knowledge is power, and the most powerful form of prevention is education,” said Lincoln Middle School student Jeanna Kier, who belongs to a Santa Monica youth advocacy group called Kids City. The clinic, she said, should educate teen-agers about birth control, prenatal care and rape.

The board authorized its staff to seek outside funding for the clinic. The district’s Community Health Advisory Committee reported that the Irvine Foundation is interested in funding the project.

Tom Kayn, a member of the Advisory Committee who has opposed a clinic in the past, questioned how the district would handle liability and cost issues, and whether parental consent would be needed before a student could use the clinic.

In an interview after the board vote, he said the clinic should not focus on birth control. “There wasn’t much talk about cuts and Band-Aids and that kind of thing, but mostly about sexual care,” he said. “That’s not a comprehensive health center; that’s a selective health center.”

The Westside Women’s Clinic has expressed interest in running the clinic.