In addressing mental health needs in honors communities, I first need to explain that I am not a mental health practitioner; I am a sociologist. The types of issues that interest me are structural: what can we do to set up supportive environments that help all our students. We need to respond appropriately to individuals, but we also need also to…

In response to the February 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, President Donald Trump established the Federal Commission on School Safety to review safety practices and make meaningful and actionable recommendations of best practices to keep students safe. The Commission conducted field visits,…

This issue of "Policy and Practice" offers counselors and student affairs professionals strategies to effectively support the mental health needs of today's students. Students require transparent, connected, and flexible systems that meet the full range of mental health needs. To achieve such systems, institutions must have a robust…

Each school day, our nation's schools are entrusted to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for approximately 55 million elementary and secondary school students in public and nonpublic schools. In collaboration with their local government and community partners, schools can take steps to plan for these potential emergencies through the…

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act has sometimes caused confusion among higher education professionals since the legislation was introduced by Senator James Buckley in 1974. Reasons for this confusion range from the fact that it became a law without the usual congressional considerations to the belief that FERPA was never intended to…

The complex issues of promoting student mental health, privacy and public safety, and the balance among them, weigh on the minds of institutional leaders, educational policymakers, and local, state and federal officials. American campuses have a proud history of intellectual freedom, openness and public accessibility to their communities. However,…

Strong mental and behavioral health supports on campus can improve the academic performance of students and increase their resilience and ability to handle stress, with reduced suicide rates, substance abuse, and eating disorders, but this study reveals that students with mental health disabilities continue to face barriers to accessing counseling…

This article describes the findings of a Florida commission on campus safety that was issued in May 2007. The commission contradicted assertions by officials at Virginia Tech that they could not share information about the gunman in April's fatal shooting rampage because of privacy laws. The commission was assembled by Governor Charlie Crist in…

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) convened a meeting of 23 stakeholders representing a national cross-section of experts in the fields of health and education on April 30, 2004. Among the participants were school health practitioners, educators, researchers, and funders. The meeting's purpose was to clarify and document…