Chronic absenteeism is a widespread and troubling phenomenon affecting high school students nationwide. Existing research identifies an inverse link between student health and chronic absenteeism. Illness is a top cause of student absence, suggesting that school-based health services may play an important role in mitigating chronic absenteeism.…

The COVID-19 global pandemic forced teachers and schools to rethink everything about the educational process. They were left in their own homes to face the challenges of binary pandemics: healthcare and racial injustice, and the need for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy became as important as ever. This article provides a view into the lives of…

Background: Adolescents' school engagement, mental health, and substance use have been major concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly given disruptions to school instruction. We examined how the instructional setting was associated with academic and health-related outcomes within an adolescent cohort followed during the pandemic.…

Background: Adolescent substance use is often associated with concurrent mental health problems (e.g., depression, suicide attempts, parental emotional and physical abuse, not feeling close to people at school, and lower virtual connectedness) at multiple ecological levels. Objective: This study examined whether such risk factors among adolescents…

In 2013, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported 13-20% of youth living in the United States experiencing a mental health disorder. Research indicated that mental health disorders can negatively affect an individual's cognitive, social, and emotional functions (National Institute of Mental Health, 2018). As a result, students…

This study compared the different services and types of disorders Oklahoma and Texas K-12 SLP's provided through teletherapy as compared to face-to-face therapy before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A Google forms survey was available to SLPs from June through October, 2021, assessing three age groups of children: elementary (5-10 years),…

ACT has been investigating issues and supports related to high school students' mental health even before the COVID-19 pandemic. ACT researchers expanded on prior research by asking students to indicate, near the beginning of the new 2020-2021 school year, their perceptions of how well their school was supporting their mental health and the extent…

Study One Abstract, Introduction: Individuals with disabilities (IWDs) struggle to access health services that they need which ultimately leads to poorer overall health outcomes and health disparities. IWDs often rely on surrogate decision-makers, or caregivers, to help them make important health decisions. Therefore, the aims of the current study…

This phenomenological study presented the lived experiences of eight high school principals who led through the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants represented eight different school from five school districts from across Colorado. Each participant's school implemented 1:1 devices, namely Chromebooks or iPads, for each student prior to the…

Digital inclusion is an opportunity to fill the digital divide, the inequity preventing access to technological resources which support participation in online learning. Specific to financially disadvantaged students, this interpretive qualitative study examines how factors of digital inclusion influence one's decision to pursue an online health…

This poll was conducted between March 24-April 5, 2023 among a national sample of 1,000 Teens. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of Teens based on gender, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) Over 40 percent of teens have heard either a lot or some about ChatGPT, while…

This hearing from the Subcommittee on Children and Families of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions examines the support of mental health in the transition from high school to college. Opening statements were presented by: (1) Honorable Robert Casey, Chairman, Subcommittee on Children and Families; and (2) Honorable Bill…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established School Health Profiles (Profiles) in 1996 to monitor school health policies and practices in secondary schools in states and school districts across the United States. Profiles is a system of surveys conducted biennially in even-numbered years and provides data on the following topics:…

Using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), this report presents findings both on crime and violence in U.S. public schools and on the practices and programs schools have used to promote school safety. SSOCS collects data from public school principals about violent and nonviolent crimes in their schools. The survey also collects…