SB58 Alabama 2025 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Sam GivhanSenator

Republican

Session

2025 Regular Session

Title

Consent to medical treatment; age at which minor may consent to medical treatment revised, exceptions further provided for

Summary

SB58 would raise the age for minors to consent to most health services to 18 (with specific exceptions) and create school-based mental health coordinators and policies that emphasize parent involvement and information access.

What This Bill Does

It requires minors to be 18 to consent to medical, dental, and mental health services—including school counseling and vaccines—unless they are married, divorced, pregnant, emancipated, or living independently. Minors can still consent to services to prevent or treat pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and alcohol or drug dependency. It would protect a parent’s right to access their minor child’s health information, with limited exceptions, and it affirms that parents have the fundamental right to decide their child’s health care. In schools, local boards must hire mental health service coordinators, establish a certification track, conduct needs assessments, and implement parent opt-in policies for mental health services with annual notices and written permission, while keeping mental health records separate from academic records.

Who It Affects

• Minors under 18 and their parents/guardians, who face new consent rules and information-access rights (with exceptions for emancipation, marriage, pregnancy, or independent living).
• Local school systems, health care providers, and government entities, which must implement school-based mental health coordinators, opt-in policies, and new information-sharing and record-keeping requirements.

Key Provisions

• Raise the general consent age to 18 for medical, dental, and mental health services, including school counseling, vaccines, and bone marrow donation, with exceptions for married, divorced, pregnant, emancipated, or independently living minors.
• Allow any minor to consent to services to prevent or treat pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and alcohol or drug dependency.
• Protect a parent’s right to access their minor child’s health information, with limited exceptions (court order or investigation).
• Affirm that parents have the fundamental right to decide health care for their child.
• Require local boards of education to hire mental health service coordinators with specified qualifications and to earn a school-based mental health certificate within one year.
• Require local boards to conduct needs assessments and resource mapping for school mental health, adopt parent opt-in policies for mental health services, provide annual written notices, obtain written parental permission for participation, and keep mental health records separate from academic records.
• Establish opt-in rules for younger students’ participation in school counseling (with certain emergency exemptions) and outline when counselors may provide services.
• Effective date: October 1, 2025.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Health