There are things some school employees (like teachers) need to know about their students. When I teach full time the school nurse sends me notes about each student I have. I know their allergies, for instance - just in case. I also know that “X has epilepsy. In a medical event do ______ and call the nurse.” Or, “Y has cancer. She is allowed to leave the room without permission at any time due to nausea.” (Both of those examples were real and happened, so having the info was important - plus there are many others.) I’m also warned that it’s a violation to share any of the information with anyone else barring a medical emergency, students, staff, other parents, people on the street, FB, or whatever. Kids will share among each other, so most knew, but it wasn’t up to me to share.
And not once in over 20 years have I needed to know (or been given) any menstrual history.
I can understand a doctor wanting to know to sign off on health, but I can’t see a sports coach needing to know - or anyone else in the school.
The box at the very top of the form says “This form should be placed into the athlete’s medical file and should not be shared with schools or sports organizations. The Medical Eligibility Form is the only form that should be submitted to a school or sports organization.”
I was a coach for female athletes and reviewed the clearance forms before the season started. I wanted to know, for example, if the athlete had asthma, then I would always want to make sure that they would have their inhaler for rescue purposes.
And I had a female athlete where she began “huffing and puffing” during the game and I promptly pulled her out of competition in order to get her to her inhaler in her bag.
I could care less about their menstral history, as long as their doctors cleared them for competition and also the HS cleared them academically.
However, the point of those questions is not for the school to know, but for the student and physician to consider for the purpose of the physician indicating clearance or not to play the sport, since those questions and answers are not to be returned to the school, but retained by the physician (as clearly indicated on the forms).
Our CA HS competes in one of the Sections that CIF governs. Our athletes never once had to use these forms, even with their doctor who was filling out the athletic clearance document.
I assume they are offered by CIF as a template, but are certainly not required.
I think (my opinion) that asking those questions is helpful in managing female athletes. Being an athlete and having an athlete I know how intimidating it can be to discuss. And how many athletes do not know what is or is not normal. Sometimes drs don’t pay attention as they should perhaps because they only see a patient once a year. Coaches and trainers( though they cannot diagnose/treat ) are sometimes the only resources an athlete has for advice.
I’m glad to learn that providing menstrual history information to the school administration, coaches, etc. is not the norm. I hope there’s enough push back from parents and doctors that it won’t become required here, but that’s unlikely. I find it a terrible invasion of privacy.
As for what may happen if such information is disclosed, I am not optimistic that it would be kept confidential or that some students may not be targeted for whatever reason. I’ve witnessed that students in private schools often have less protection than their public school counterparts, and that concerns me for my granddaughters’ sakes.
I have no objection to requiring physicals and vaccinations, but I think the schools only need to know that this has been done. Parents can then disclose any information that the school might need to provide care in the event of a problem, such as when their child has epilepsy. If a student has concerns about her health that she cannot or will not discuss with her doctor, there’s nothing stopping her from asking a coach or trainer or another trusted adult if she prefers.
When I think of nutrition in female athletes, I think of this extreme:
which is why my first bias when reading this thread was that coaches can’t be trusted to do what is best for female health, and also that a female who has an eating disorder would probably lie on forms (re: menstruation) if she wasn’t looking to get help with her problem.
Yet I’ve also seen high school coaches be really thoughtful and deliberate about nutrition advice - guidance was always delivered to the team as a whole, even when I happened to know, through other sources, that it was directed at certain teammates of my kids.
I’m a doctor, and it’s hard to see how details of individual female athletes’ menstrual cycles is an efficient way for a coach or school to address nutrition. So I think these recent changes (certain questions being new or mandatory) are motivated by something else.
Add Oregon to states that have a form for the physician doing the examination that includes questions about menstrual history, but does not include anything about that on the form that goes to the school. If Florida is changing a policy like that to one where the school receives information about menstrual history that is a big deal imho.
If they cannot diagnose/treat then how are coaches/trainers qualified to give medical advice relating to reproductive health? How would a preseason form relating to reproductive health aid in this regard?
My girls were both on the pill by 9th grade to regulate debilitating migraines. (I know that for some people BCP makes migraines worse, but if you have menstrual migraines, and you take the right pill continuously, it can help a lot.)
Our school health form for sports in NY is very intrusive. It asks about regular periods. We lied and checked, yes, but I am upset to be asked. I told my girls that they don’t need to disclose any info about their cycle to anyone except a trusted OB/Gyn. Even other types of doctors should be asked why they are requesting this info.
In fact, I also advise them not to disclose mental health medication to anyone except the doctor who prescribed it. With a form from any other source, they should leave it blank or ask why the question is necessary and evaluate the reason. I’ve had this asked at the dentist!
Our school district has a new form for athletes for 2023. It asks tons of questions, even about relatives. It asks whether the athlete has ever had surgery, ever spent the night in a hospital, ever had migraines, herpes, rashes, Covid. They ask whether a relative has ever been in a car accident before age 50, whether any relative has had a pacemaker. Good grief!
My S24 will run track in the spring. I haven’t decided whether to protest, or check “no” for everything. The school has no capacity to evaluate this information and it’s none of their business. My son has run 10 seasons for this school district and now they somehow need to know whether he has a relative who drowned before age 50?!
The reason they ask about drowning and car wrecks is to assess whether there could be a genetic predisposition to sudden cardiac death. If asked for the doctor to use in their assessment, it would be appropriate. Not for school offficials to have access to though.
I perfectly understand the reasons, but… Hope you use the same pharmacy for filling all of their prescriptions (where the pharmacist can see any potential red flags) and the medication does not have any serious drug-drug interactions with anything they can be prescribed or can take OTC.
They can suggest follow-up with a sports doctor or professional and be a conduit for getting help. I will not go into specifics but a trainer helped my daughter with some followup to address a medical issue that she ( my daughter) did not know was a problem. Thank goodness.
Of course they do. That why it’s a question to lead the doctor to assess if it’s an important concern. A main component of an athletic physical is to look at any factors that could lead to a cardiac emergency. You have to ask questions to figure that out.
Thank you. The medication they are taking has very few drug-drug interactions. They are both in their 20’s now, and they check with their neurologist or father (MD) before taking anything, including herbal supplements etc.
The question of “what medications do you take” has been on everything from weekend camping trips to summer programs, oral surgeon, dermatologist, laser hair removal, massage therapist, etc. None of these people have any need to know about BCP or SNRI. And the public school certainly does not.