Background: Disparities in school attendance exist for children with medical complexity (CMC) due to COVID-19. Longitudinal changes in family-reported school safety perceptions and predictors of full-time, in-person school attendance are unknown. Methods: This was a prospective, longitudinal cohort study with 3 survey waves (June 2021-June 2022)…

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that every student should attend school in a safe, supportive, and equitable environment. Access to a registered professional nurse (hereinafter referred to as a school nurse) democratizes healthcare for the most vulnerable students and families. This document provides the…

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…

The next President of the United States has an enormous responsibility--and opportunity--to provide an equitable foundation for a new generation of learners. The magnitude of the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated the importance of schools as community anchors that children and families rely on for much more than an education. This document…

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) Initiative offers a unique opportunity to conduct large-scale, multisite, multilevel program evaluation in the context of a federal environment that places many requirements and constraints on how the grants are conducted and managed. Federal programs stress performance-based outcomes, valid and reliable…

Positive academic performance is a strong indicator of subsequent positive life course outcomes (e.g., employment) as well as underrepresentation in psychiatric populations, drug use, school dropout, and subsequent legal trouble (A. Farn & J. Adams, 2016). As such, helping all children to be successful in school is a top priority for parents,…

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that data on children's deaths in school should be recorded, analyzed and reported at the local, state and national level. The systematic review of data on child deaths is necessary to drive interventions and policies that will decrease mortality from injuries, violence, acute…

In the past three decades, program evaluation has sought to more fully engage stakeholders in the evaluative process. But little information has been gathered from stakeholders about how they share in evaluation tasks and whether role sharing leads to confusion or tensions between the evaluator and the stakeholders. This article reports findings…

This 1959 paper describes the three components of modern school health programs: healthful school living (e.g., lunch programs and wholesome teacher-student relationships); health education (health and safety instruction); and health services (e.g., vision testing and visiting physicians who come daily to examine students for infectious diseases).…

The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and programs at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. This brief reports study results in the area of violence prevention, covering the following topics: (1) Health Education; (2) Health Services and…

This article discusses the involvement of the National PTA in bringing about comprehensive school health programs in three areas: health education, health services, and school safety. A synopsis is included of selected resolutions related to school health issues that have been adopted by the National PTA. (IAH)

Data from a nationwide survey of school districts were used to contrast roles of nurses and health assistants in school health programs. Results indicated that nurses were underused in school health education. Health assistants tended to administer medication and basic first aid, and nurses provided technically involved clinical services. (SM)

Presents the position of the National Association of State School Nurse Consultants regarding delegation of school health services to unlicensed personnel, explaining what school health means, what safe delegation of school nursing activities requires, and how the nurse uses professional judgment to determine which activities may be delegated and…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducts the School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) periodically to monitor the extent to which school health policies and practices are addressing the leading causes of death, illness, and social problems among young people and adults. SHPPS 2006 assessed the characteristics of…

This report details a study by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) of food safety in public schools. The study examined: (1) the frequency and causes of reported food-borne illness outbreaks associated with the federal school-meal programs; and (2) the practices that federal, state, and local governments, as well as other food…