‘School-Based Health Centers Mobile Unit,’ partially funded by a federal grant, appears to offer Albuquerque Public Schools middle school students access to ‘gender-affirming care,; will not disclose information to parents about services their child receives

A School-Based Health Centers (SBHC) Mobile Unit, partially funded by the federal government, called Health Yeah! appears to offer Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) middle school students access to “gender-affirming care” and will not disclose to parents which services their child receive. Students who are 14 or older do not require parental permission to obtain services.

On October 1, 2024, Bernalillo County (NM) announced that “in collaboration with Wellness Equity Alliance and Albuquerque Public Schools (APS)” they were launching “Health Yeah!, an initiative introducing mobile health clinics to students, school faculty, and community members” which would “provide free, accessible healthcare directly at schools and community centers.”

The press release states that the mobile units will offer a “full-range of services, including primary care, mental health support, vaccinations, sports physicals, and prescription services.”

It also states that the “Health Yeah! initiative is supported by $1.5 million in recurring funding from Bernalillo County’s Behavioral Health Gross Receipts Tax (BHGRT)” and “a $422,031 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”

The mobile units are operated by California based Wellness Equity Alliance (WEA) which states that its vision is to “Bring health equity in action to life by making an immediate, tangible difference in people’s lives, ensuring consistent, quality healthcare for individuals who have been historically overlooked.”

According to WEA’s website, its “School-Based Health” minor consent form states that “all services provided to minors under this consent form are confidential as per New Mexico state law” and “information will not be disclosed to parents or guardians without minor’s consent unless required by law.”

Per the Health Yeah! consent forms site, students who are 14 or older are considered “non-minors” and do not require parental consent to sign up for services. While neither Health Yeah! consent forms include “gender-affirming care” explicitly, a separate WEA document reveals that the company includes it under “primary care.”

A job posting made by WEA for a “School Based Community Health Worker” states that it is “actively seeking compassionate and driven individuals for several pivotal roles in our groundbreaking School-Based Health Center (SBHC) program for Bernalillo County, New Mexico” which will “focus on health promotion, prevention, and treatment centered on behavioral health and primary care (including sexual health and gender-affirming care) located in large mobile units (including a brick-and-mortar clinic) in schools across the county.”

A WEA Facebook post from 2024 announces the a new “National Advisor on Transgender Health” who helps advise WEA on “how to optimize our gender affirming care programming for the most historically marginalized.”

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In 2023, New Mexico passed and signed into law two bills that make School-Based Health Centers mandatory and guaranteeing access to “reproductive and gender-affirming health care.”

Senate Bill 0397, “School-Based Health Centers – Creation and Operation,” states that “School-based health centers shall be established in schools, within the boundaries of school campuses or within safe walking distances from school campuses as determined by the school and the school” and shall provide “primary health care,” “preventative health care,” and “mental health care.”

House Bill 0007, “Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act,” states defines “gender-affirming care” as the “psychological, behavioral, surgical, pharmaceutical and medical care, services and supplies provided to support a person’s gender identity” and defines “reproductive health care” as the “psychological, behavioral, surgical, pharmaceutical and medical care, services and supplies that relate to the human reproductive system” which includes “abortion.”

The act also defines “public body” to include “school districts and institutions of higher learning.”

According to the act, a public body “shall not deny, restrict or interfere with a person’s ability to access or provide reproductive health care or gender-affirming health care within the medical standard.”