By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
In Baltimore City, children and parents can expect expanded access to healthcare services through school-based health clinics this year. The new law aims to provide more equitable, accessible care for families and students who need it most.
Baltimore City Councilwoman Phylicia Porter (D-District 10) authored and led the bill through the city legislature, and it was signed into law on June 9. Porter said the new law can best be described as a system change for parents, teachers and students, making way for a comprehensive healthcare access point within schools.
The law also requires, without prior approval, follow-up care for positive or abnormal health screenings and a referral to a vision or mental and behavioral health specialist at the written request of a specified individual. These services will be available to students and families through their schools’ health centers and health suites.
Porter said she got the idea for the Child Health Equity Act by talking with school nurses and administrators about vaccinations that had not been received by the immunization deadline for City Schools.
“From the discussions with Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools), I began to see that parents either could not get to the clinic at North Avenue, or they did not have time to come to the school,” said Porter. “I wanted to create a way–through the Child Health Equity Act–that we could reduce the time by which children get all of their approved vaccinations for their grade level, but also that they have an opportunity to get dental, vision, or mental health checks from a school administrator.”
Through the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR), City Schools were already required to provide a measure of prevention and wellness checks for students, but it did not require dental and vision screenings, in particular.
The rollout of the expanded resources began at the start of the 2025-2026 school year via a pilot initiative designed to connect families to care coordination services related to social determinants of health (SDOH), meaning the conditions of the environments where people live, work and play that shape their health.
Addressing SDOH is crucial for Black students, who often face economic instability, limited healthcare access, and unsafe home or community environments, all of which can hinder their success in school. Black students make up approximately 75 percent of the student body within City Schools, according to the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance-Jacob France Institute, a research unit from the University of Baltimore.
“We’re providing opportunities through vaccination clinics, resource clinics and ad-hoc services that can be garnered and obtained at the school,” said Porter. Ad-hoc services are initiatives that are temporary and designed to meet a specific need.
Porter said the pilot has shown promising results. Through the new law, they have hosted 10 vaccination clinics at Baltimore City Public School headquarters in collaboration with City Schools.
“Each time, 50 to 75 parents and young people were at each of those clinics,” said Porter.
They recently held a child health equity event as part of the pilot on Nov. 19 at Dorothy I. Height Elementary School, aligned with student lunch periods between 10:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. and an after-school event from 4 to 5 p.m. Students and their families received information about supportive services available via Porter’s office and health information from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Center for Community Health and the University of Maryland Medical Center, alongside refreshments provided by the school.
Teonna Ransom, parent of a City Schools student who attended the event, praised it for having a wide variety of resources available for students and families, particularly the food giveaway and housing program information.
“A lot of people don’t have the resources or don’t have jobs to help their kids,” said Ransom. “It’s important to make sure your kids are healthy and to do the right things.”
Khadijah Belton-Jackson, a parent of a City Schools student who also attended the pop-up, applauded the event for incorporating parents and creating a safe space for children, including those with disabilities, to enjoy while getting access to resources.
As the rollout of the new law continues, parents can expect to see increased access to health care through their child’s school. In a time of heightened economic uncertainty, this could be a lifesaving asset for many.