This paper examines the cultural politics that arise when the decision is made to place health services in schools and suggests ways in which the different discourses that surface regarding program implementation might be reconciled. The policy analyses for the paper were based on a 2-year statewide evaluation of a supplemental school health program. The evaluation drew primarily on information from: (1) 2,572 students in project schools; (2) site visits with over 120 interviews with school and health services personnel, parents, administrators, and school board members; and (3) a review of health activity logs maintained by all health rooms. Two themes characterized the discourses surrounding the implementation of school-linked services. The first is that the issue of situating health services in schools is emblematic of the struggle over which groups have the moral and political authority to define the value structure for American society. The second thematic issue is that these cultural conflicts over values are to an increasing degree race and class based. Both these themes are played out in discourses of dissent. It is suggested that what is needed from professionals involved in the movement to place health and social services in the schools is a willingness to concede moral, religious, and ideological legitimacy to parents and other community members and to construct programs, approaches, and strategies that build on assumptions of ideological diversity. (Contains 20 references.) (SLD)