School May Be the Only Doctor Some Black Kids Ever See

by Quintessa Williams, Capital B

For some kids, the school nurse is there to put a bandage on a skinned knee or check for a fever. But for a majority of Black students, too often, that nurse is the only healthcare provider they’ll see all year. If House Republicans get their way, though, even that might disappear.

Indeed, Medicaid is the largest federal funding source for school-based health services. And with GOP lawmakers inching closer to passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the health safety net it provides students could be ripped away. 

The budget bill, a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda, slashes at least $715 billion from Medicaid. That means school-based health services funded through Medicaid, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, mental health counseling, and behavioral health care, could be greatly reduced or eliminated entirely. 

“It would be unacceptable and unethical to take that away from our kids,” Lauren Reliford, policy director at the Children’s Defense Fund, tells Word In Black, “Cuts like these will be particularly harmful for children who live at the intersection of race, ethnicity, citizenship status, gender identity, and disabilities.”

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According to the Economic Policy Institute, more than half of all Black children under age 19 rely on public health insurance like Medicaid. For some, this means coverage outside of school — doctor’s visits, prescriptions, and other care. But for many Black students in under-resourced schools, school is often the only place they can get health services at all.

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