'Gender-Affirming Care' Question Disrupts Highline Board Meeting

During the March 4 Highline School Board meeting, Director Stephanie Tidholm questioned whether gender-affirming care is provided at school-based HealthPoint clinics, prompting clarification that medical transition treatments like puberty blockers and surgeries are not offered on campus. The board voted 4-0 to approve a HealthPoint license agreement for clinics at Highline, Evergreen, and Tyee high schools, with the Highline clinic having served 354 students through approximately 1,300 visits this school year. HealthPoint clarified that behavioral health staff may discuss gender identity concerns with students, while confirming that gender-affirming medical treatments are not provided at the on-campus clinics.