Howard County's top health officer criticized the county school system this week for its decision to disclose information about student pregnancies to parents.

County health officer Dr. Peter Beilenson called the Board of Education's Jan. 10 decision on the matter "absolutely outrageous" because it interferes with pregnant teens' right to privacy and endangers a segment of teens who might forego prenatal care if they cannot count on confidential guidance at school.

In practice, nurses and counselors at county schools have notified parents when they learn of student pregnancies for the past five years, although it was not formally written in the school system's procedures.

However, a recent review of the policy -- during which officials put in writing the requirement to inform parents -- sparked debate.

In defending the board decision, board member Patricia Gordon said pregnancy is a time to "rally around the student" who will need her family's support.

"Do we wish to put ourselves in a position of Big Brother?" Gordon said. "Are we not cutting out the parents? Are we substituting our judgment -- what we think is best for the student -- for that of the parents?"

Board member Larry Cohen agreed. "As a parent of daughters, I'd want to know," he said. "I wouldn't be a happy camper if I found out the school knew and I didn't. ... (Parents) lend us their kid for eight hours a day, but it's their kid."

However, in an interview this week, Beilenson said he finds the new requirement troubling because it could have a "chilling effect on teens seeking help from trusted adults in the schools."

"As a father of five, obviously, obviously, parents should be deeply involved in their children's lives, and hopefully they would have the kind of relationship where they could talk about this sort of thing," he said.

Beilenson, who said his opposition is based partly on medical ethics, added that by sharing information about a teen's pregnancy, her privacy would be violated should she choose to have an abortion.

Under Maryland's minor consent law, which applies to clinical settings, minors have the right to confidentially access reproductive, mental and substance abuse health services, Beilenson said.

Although a school is not a clinical setting, Beilenson said the schools' new disclosure procedure disregards the position of the medical community.

"It really is a major mistake," he said.

Verbal confirmation needed

The schools' disclosure requirement is contained in a larger policy that addresses educational programs for pregnant students and those, both female and male, who become parents.

Under the new procedures, a school nurse or counselor will inform parents only after the student verbally confirms her pregnancy.

After an hour of debate at the board's Jan. 10 meeting, the policy passed by a 7-1 vote.

Student member Andrew Gavelek voted against the measure, partly because of feedback he collected from fellow students who told him they would rather tell their parents themselves of a pregnancy or not at all.

Board member Janet Siddiqui, while voting for the policy, said that as a pediatrician she disagreed with the requirement to inform parents, which is contained in the policy's "implementation procedures."

School policies are controlled by the board, but the board grants authority over policies' "implementation procedures" to the superintendent and his staff.

Siddiqui said she felt the matter needed further review.

Students still telling others

Throughout the board's review of the policy, "Educational Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Students," there was general support for the focus of the policy -- which aims to keep pregnant and parenting teens enrolled in school.

Debate hinged on whether to inform parents of their child's pregnancy.

Pamela Blackwell, the system's director of student services, told the board that, in general, students know that if they report their pregnancy to staff members that their parents will be informed. Although that may have deterred some students from confiding in staff members, it has not deterred them altogether.

In the 2005-2006 school year, 22 student pregnancies were reported to school health services staff, Blackwell told the board. Twenty-three pregnancies were reported in 2004-2005 and 14 were reported in 2003-2004.

"They haven't stopped coming to us," Blackwell said. "Students are still coming to us and telling us because they want our help."

School system attorney Mark Blom said that officials consulted laws on the matter in crafting the procedures.

Blom told the board that the school system bears legal responsibility to protect its students and because of the physical and emotional health risks related to teen pregnancy, one way for the system to fulfill its responsibility is to notify parents, thereby shifting the responsibility to the parents.

Also, under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, parents have a right to information about their child recorded in school health records, Blom told the board.

Feedback the board received on the policy included that from Dr. Maura Rossman, the medical director of the county Health Department.

During a public hearing in December, she told the board she feared that requiring parent notification would deter some pregnant teens from seeking advice and potentially cause them to delay or forego prenatal care.

According to Rossman, 103 babies were born to young women between the ages of 15 and 19 in Howard County in 2006.

"The guarantees of confidentiality, and the adolescent's awareness of this guarantee, are essential in helping teens seek needed care," Rossman told the board, according to a written copy of her testimony. " ... I fear that this new requirement removes school professionals as a teen resource and leaves some teens vulnerable to making ill-informed decisions."

E-mail Jennifer Broadwater at Jennifer Broadwater@patuxent.com