‘It’s not their kid to give a prescription to’: Father says son’s high school prescribed him anti-depressants without notifying him, sparking debate

Posted For: Marion Roberts

Gisselle Hernandez

In a viral TikTok, a father shares his shock and frustration that his 15-year-old son’s high school was supplying him with antidepressants without his knowledge. User Eli Holt (@mr.notnew) says the high school’s counselor called him to let him know that his son had not picked up his antidepressants at the end of the school year.

“I said, ‘He’s not on anti-depressants. What are you talking about? My kid is not depressed,’” Holt says in the video. “They proceed to tell me they had a psychiatrist come to the school and give my kid antidepressants and he’s been on them for several months. I had no knowledge.”

According to Holt, whose child attends a high school in Snohomish, Washington, he found out that it was perfectly legal for schools to treat teenagers without consulting the parents. Based on Washington State law, this is true.

Certain states, including Washington, have carved out a law that allows any minor age 13 or older to seek treatment for mental health, substance abuse, or withdrawal management without parental consent. However, the Adolescent Behavioral Health Care Access Act, which was passed into law by Washington Legislature in 2019, “gives parents and providers more leverage in treating a young person who won’t or can’t independently seek medical help for mental illness and/or substance use disorder.”

Still, the law doesn’t prevent a teenager from independently seeking treatment. In a follow-up video, Holt answers some viewers’ burning questions.

“Number one, if they’re giving a child prescription in your home you should know, period,” he says. He continues that the only way he would understand if the school did not consult him was if the child lived in an abusive home or was in danger.