EXCLUSIVE: Virginia Schools Illegally Providing Mental Health Treatment Without Parental Permission

Restoration News uncovered school districts across Virginia offering telehealth mental health therapy for children without parental permission. State law permits telehealth in schools, but requires parental consent and the adoption of school board policies on the topic. Federal law also prohibits the disclosure of private student information, but these laws are ignored in multiple districts.

Hazel Health is a third-party provider for mental health services for at least 13 school districts in Virginia. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to these districts reveal most are ignoring state telehealth laws. School boards are required to develop policies that include specific provisions of the law. They must also enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the provider in accordance with a model memo adopted by the state Education Department.

While school boards are not required to offer telehealth counseling, those that do must meet legal obligations. State law requires school board policies to include a provision for parental consent and to designate a private location in the school for students to receive counseling services.

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits schools from disclosing personally identifiable information in student records. Yet multiple Virginia school districts are defying this law.

Districts Ignoring the Law

On Dec. 19th, 2025, Prince William County Schools shared private student and parent personal information with Hazel Health without permission from parents. The personal information included students’ identification numbers, birth dates, parent contact information, and more. Reportedly, parents had to opt-out of services for Hazel Health rather than the legal requirement to opt-in. 

Other districts in the state seem to be ignoring telehealth laws and sharing private student information.

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) has utilized Hazel Health as a mental health telehealth provider since 2022. The most recent annual contract costs $236,625 and does not address parental consent. ACPS has a telehealth policy but it does not specifically address parental consent. The district told Restoration News they do not have an MOU with Hazel Health—as required by law.

The ACPS website indicates that a counselor will refer students to Hazel Health counseling services and then Hazel will contact the child’s parent/guardian to let them know their child has been referred. These procedures are concerning because a third party is being provided student information before a parent has given his or her consent.

Amherst County Public School Board adopted a telehealth policy in December 2025. Parental consent must be given before a referral process can begin, but that provision is not included in vendor contracts. 

Documents obtained by Restoration News indicate three contracts with three different telehealth agencies adopted months before the approved school board policy. Amherst has an enrollment of 3,905 students and is spending $248,600 on telehealth mental health services across nine months—from Oct. 2025 through June 2025. Most of the funding is from state tax dollars through grants. 

Amherst has a $114,400 contract with Peace of Mind Counseling Services to “offer mental health assessments, screening, and services to students and their family/caregivers.” These services occur both during the school day and outside school hours during the 2025-26 school year.

Amherst also has a $34,200 contract with Hazel Health to provide the same services to students between Oct 2, 2025, through June 30, 2026. The third contract with Impact Living Services is worth $100,000 with contracted dates of Oct 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. 

Contract documents indicate that providers may also bill Medicaid for payment. Are they getting paid twice?

Arlington City Public Schools (APS) told us they have no telehealth policy. They have been using Hazel Health for mental telehealth since January 2024. School staff can refer a child for services and then Hazel Health contacts the parent, seeming to indicate private student information is given to this third-party healthcare provider prior to parental consent. Parents must log into their child’s online account and opt-out of services rather than opting in. What if parents aren’t notified? The law requires consent, not an opt-out option. 

The APS contract with Hazel costs $213,810 and was procured under a sole source, non-competitive contract. Virginia procurement laws require competitive bidding for contracts over $200,000. APS claimed there were no other providers who could meet their requirements for services in multiple languages. The district does not have the required MOU.

Chesterfield County Public Schools (CCPS) has an annual contract with Hazel Health costing the taxpayer $260,000. CCPS admits they do not have a telehealth policy. They provided us with a general policy on counseling that indicates parental permission is not needed unless there is ongoing individual counseling “in the personal or social domain.” An MOU was not provided and CCPS refused to provide a copy of the contract stating it was in the possession of the county, not the school district. The district told Restoration News that telehealth is not provided at school but wouldn’t provide supporting documentation. 

The Cumberland County School Board adopted a policy on August 7, 2025, permitting telehealth counseling. Yet their policy does not address the requirement of parental consent. 

Cumberland has a two-year, $23,094 agreement with Hazel Health from Sept. 2025 through Sept. 2027. The agreement indicates Hazel Health will obtain informed consent from the patient and mentions nothing about parental permission.

The contract also requires the school district to provide demographic information including students’ names, dates of birth, and parent contact information to Hazel. Additionally, services will be available Monday through Friday from 7am–7pm, and Hazel Health clinicians will participate on school teams to “support effective school-community collaboration.” 

In response to our FOIA request, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) said they have no telehealth policy. Their initial contract with Hazel Health was for 9 months in 2023 and cost $686,250. The contract was extended through June 30, 2024, for $840,000. Services were offered to students both in school and at home. We followed up with FCPS because we did not receive an MOU nor a contract for 2025 or 2026 despite Hazel Health services still advertised on their website. 

Orange County Public Schools (OCPS)—with 5,066 students—contracted with Hazel Health for $43,650 for one year beginning Oct. 1, 2025. The district told Restoration News they do not have a telehealth policy. The contract only requires informed consent to be obtained from the patient, not the parent. OCPS is also required to provide private, personal student and parent information to Hazel Health prior to launching their services in the district. No MOU was provided. 

Roanoke City Public Schools (RCPS) permit students to access telehealth counseling at school with Hazel Health. The contract began in 2023 and the latest annual contract costs $210,000 for the district’s 14,000 students. The school board policy indicates students can participate on the same basis as other school counseling services. Policies that reference standard school counseling do not require a parental opt-in as required by law, but reference an opt-out method.

The Hazel Health contract with RCPS also requires them to provide “demographic information of the students to Hazel Health forty five days prior to the launching of the first school in the division. Demographic information includes, but is not limited to, Parent or Guardian name, email address, phone number and student’s name, date of birth and gender.”

Parents Can Fight Back

When government schools insert themselves in critical medical decisions that belong solely to parents, it raises serious legal concerns. Data breaches threaten lasting harm to students’ privacy.

Parents in school districts violating parental rights and student privacy laws can take action. Violations of FERPA can be reported by filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education.

Parents can also notify Restoration News about concerns they have in their district to [email protected].

It’s the fundamental and constitutional right of parents to care for their children, not government schools.

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