School health education curricula can be an important vehicle for including units on occupational and vocational health. The traditional cognitive learning of health concepts in the classroom should be expanded to include the functional learning of health on the job through positive health behavior. Together with the media and social and political agencies, the schools should serve as core agencies for health promotion behavior and information. Although the emphasis on occupational health has increased in recent years, presently existing school health programs are generally lacking in their coverage of occupational health and worksite-related health problems. Health education programs in the schools can promote occupational health by focusing on awareness, knowledge, attitude, and change-oriented behavior related to real-life worksite health problems likely to be faced by students in the future. It is both necessary and possible for occupational health programs to bridge the domains of school and community health. (This paper includes facts and statistics on occupational health and work-related health problems and an outline of a proposed unit on occupational health for juniors and seniors in high school). (MN)