Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
A bill seeking to provide parents with greater transparency about their children’s medical treatments passed the House Health Subcommittee on Wednesday and will move on to the full committee for consideration.
HB0853 by Rep. Michele Reneau (R-Signal Mountain-District 27) would ensure that a child’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian can access all their child’s health and treatment records, including for mental health, medical treatments, rehabilitation, prescription records, or for treatments that may have been provided to the child without parental consent.
Local education agencies would still be allowed to provide basic first aid care like bandages, gauze, or ice packs in the treatment of minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but the bill makes clear that parents have the right to obtain any and all records for any medical treatment, prescriptions, or rehabilitations issued to their child.
During the subcommittee meeting, Rep. Reneau emphasized the need for this bill, referring to a currently open court case in Williamson County where a mother was unable to obtain records from or follow up with the facility where her 16-year-old daughter was receiving mental health treatment due to a loophole in the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2024.
The provider refused to share any information, citing the current law that was not properly addressed and updated under the Act, and the court ultimately ruled that the treatment decisions belong to the minor, not the parents because of it.
“Despite this Act passing, the Willaimson County court ruled that this code loophole effectively overrides the parental rights by allowing the minor to make those treatment decisions and not giving those records to the parent. So, this [HB0853] corrects the inconsistency and brings the related statutes across the code in alignment with the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act to clarify that parents do, in fact, retain the right to access their unemancipated child’s medical records,” Reneau said.
There were no comments or questions from subcommittee members, and the vote was 5-2 in favor along party lines. The bill will now proceed to the full House Health Committee.
The Senate companion, SB0259, has already passed the Senate Education Committee and will have to be heard in the Health and Welfare Committee before possibly making it to the Senate floor for a final vote.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
