Health in School
Children and teens spend a good deal of time in school and it’s important to ensure they’re healthy enough to learn. Law and policy can support strategies and programs that provide kids with a safe environment and nutritious meals, as well as nursing and other health services, including dental care, that are essential in promoting health in school. For vulnerable and underserved children, schools can present significant opportunities for improving health.
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Resources
Back to School: Overview of Legal Challenges to Mask and Vaccine Requirements
COVID-19 Vaccination: State Minor Consent Requirements
Law and Policy Pathways to Addressing Rising Youth Suicide Rates
Key Federal Programs to Address Student Food Insecurity When School is out of Session
Policy Surveillance: Preschool Social and Emotional Learning
State Laws Addressing Concussions in Youth Sports
Making Sure Kids are Healthy Enough to Learn: Innovations in Education Law and Policy
Addressing the School Breakfast Gap: State Interventions
Survey of Laws Addressing the School Breakfast Gap
Policy Frameworks Supporting School-Based Dental Sealant Programs
Health and Attendance – The Critical Role of School Nurses in Reducing Chronic Absence
Implementing Law and Policy to Support Literacy and Reading Proficiency
Spotlight
Losing Data, Losing Ground: Politicizing Science Undermines Youth Mental Health
The Legal Landscape of Religious Exemptions to School Vaccination Requirements
Reducing Kids’ Consumption of Sugar and Salt through Changes in the National School Lunch Program
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A Closer Look at Health in School
Children can’t learn when they’re hungry or sick, or absent from school. Ensuring kids are healthy enough—physically and emotionally—to learn is as important as the education they receive. Breakfast and lunch programs help kids get nutritious meals throughout the day. School immunization requirements ensure kids are safe from infectious diseases. School nurses provide timely health care to kids when they need it.
Children and teens spend more time in school than anywhere else except home, so schools present significant opportunities for improving health, particularly for vulnerable and low-income kids. Conditions and habits that affect health behaviors and decisions across the lifespan begin in early childhood education and continue into high school and beyond.
Law and policy can support strategies and programs that are essential to advancing health in school, including:
- Providing nutritious meals.
- Preventive dental care.
- Immunizations.
- Expanded health services through school nurses.
- Identifying mental and behavioral health needs.
- Addressing concussions in youth sports.
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