This report explores access to school-site health and mental health services among the general population of K-12 public school students in California. These general health services are a major part of some schools' operations, yet they often "fly under the radar" of both education policy and health policy discussions (Lear, 2007).…

Despite the many social and political advances lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals have achieved, youth within these populations continue to be at elevated risk for suicide. Because adolescents spend most of their day in academic settings, school district staff have ample opportunity to identify and assess suicide…

Returning to school during a global pandemic brings a new level of anxiety for everyone involved. Even though most children are very resilient to COVID-19, many parents/guardians have valid concerns that the student could carry the virus home to vulnerable family members or others living in the home. The decision to return to school is dependent…

Background: Influenza is a major cause of seasonal viral respiratory illness among school-aged children. Accordingly, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) coordinates >800 school-based influenza immunization clinics before each influenza season. We quantified the relationship between student influenza vaccination in Arkansas public schools…

School-based sexual health clinics are emerging as one of the key ways to promote sexual health among young people, and school nurses play an important role in developing and delivering these services. This study used a qualitative design to explore the experiences of health professionals and policy makers involved in setting up such services in…

This program evaluation examines the effectiveness of a school-based dental clinic. A repeated-measures design was used to longitudinally examine secondary data from participants (N = 293). Encounter intensity was developed to normalize data. Multivariate analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to investigate the effect of encounter…

Public schools can be a relatively desirable location for efficient and widespread distribution of physical and mental health services to children. However, California provides fewer physical and mental health services in schools than almost any other state. This brief summarizes "Investments in Student Health and Mental Health in…

Background: School-located vaccination clinics offer an opportunity to target children for vaccination programs during communicable disease outbreaks. However, children in the United States are primarily vaccinated in the pediatrician's or family physician's office, and the concept of school-located vaccinations may be unfamiliar to some parents…

From February 2008 through April 2011, School Health Connection, a program of the Louisiana Public Health Institute, developed an electronic health information management system for newly established school-based health centers in Greater New Orleans. School Health Connection was established as part of a broader effort to restore community health…

The National Association of School Nurses holds the position that a combination of school nursing services and school-based health centers (SBHCs) can facilitate positive health outcomes for students. SBHC services complement the work of the school nurses, who are responsible for the entire population of students, by providing a referral site for…

Local health departments have typically led school-located influenza vaccination (SLIV) programs, assuming resource-intensive roles in design, coordination, and vaccination. This level of involvement is often not financially sustainable over time. Five diverse school districts in Los Angeles County designed, implemented, refined, and…

The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus presented a major challenge to health departments, schools, and other community partners to effectively vaccinate large numbers of Americans, primarily children. The use of school-located vaccination (SLV) programs to address this challenge led health departments and schools to become creative in developing models for…

Background: School-based health centers (SBHCs) have improved access to primary and preventive health care for underserved children and youth by bringing comprehensive health services into the schools while addressing critical health problems that make it difficult for students to learn. Despite the findings on the positive effects of SBHCs on…

Maintaining student health, safety, and welfare is a primary goal for any K-12 school system. If a child becomes sick, is injured, or seems in any other way incapacitated at school, it is the understood responsibility that the school will provide care and, if necessary, contact the parents and direct the child to outside treatment. Beyond that…

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care's (NASBHC) 2007-2008 Census is the 11th request for data from school-based health centers (SBHCs) since 1986. The Census: (1) provides a better understanding of the role of SBHCs in meeting the needs of underserved children and adolescents; (2) collects relevant trend data on demographics,…