School District Removes Birth Questions After Parental Concerns

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (CBS13) – The Dry Creek School District admission application will no longer pose questions to parents about how their children were born.

A section near the top of the district's health form has asked for intimate details about the way the prospective student was delivered for the past two years, drawing criticism from a mother who said the questions had no bearing on her children's education.

"I don't feel a school district should ask if a child is delivered vaginally or C-Section," Heather told CBS13 last week.

Superintendent Mark Geyer said Monday the question was meant to identify if a child was at risk for health issues like diabetes and seizures and to help understand learning disabilities.

Research from a few years ago indicated the way a child was born could affect both, but Geyer said newer studies show the factor may not be as important as once thought.

"The body of research that exists right now is that there are probably other factors that are more significant," he said.

Geyer didn't offer specifics on how the information has been used since the questions were added to the form, but added, "there were students that were identified or at least screened as a precautionary measure who came up with having some kind of health problem."

Geyer said he didn't know for sure who added the question to the form to begin with.