Department of Defense (DOD) research has found that military families and children face severe barriers to accessing mental health care, harming family well-being and military readiness. Without proper treatment, children with mental health concerns are at risk of school failure, substance misuse, and suicide. Senate Report 118-58 includes a…

In May 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new guidance on school Medicaid that is a clear victory for school health and student health. It affirms that states have flexibility in their school-based Medicaid program to allow school districts to bill Medicaid for health services delivered to all Medicaid-enrolled…

Rising rates of individuals with mental illness in the United States have policymakers, education officials, and medical professionals worried about the need for additional support for struggling college students--and the ability of higher education institutions to provide it. Many colleges have designed and implemented a variety of interventions…

Over the past 20 years, substance use (SU) among adolescents has decreased to the lowest levels in decades. While there has been a decline, these public health successes have not been shared equally. Significant racial and ethnic disparities exist, with Black and Latinx adolescents, as well as adolescents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds,…

Recent decades have seen a rise in mental health problems among children and adolescents. Despite a proliferation of studies describing effective school-based mental health programs, reviews of current research in this field suggest a strong lack of consensus concerning the definition of school mental health and its constructs. In the present…

The focus of this report is on mental health interventions delivered in K-12 neighborhood public schools. A vast array of commercially available programs, conceptual frameworks, and approaches to school-based mental health are not unanimously recommended, applied, or agreed upon. This poses a challenge to any comprehensive description or…

For Chicago to be a strong and vibrant city, it needs to invest in communities, families, and children. Access to a high-quality education and the opportunity to be healthy is key for all children to realize their full potential and contribute to a vibrant city. Studies have consistently documented the powerful connection between health and…

In "Absent from School," Gottfried and Hutt offer a comprehensive and timely resource for educators and policy makers seeking to understand the scope, impact, and causes of chronic student absenteeism. The editors present a series of studies by leading researchers from a variety of disciplines that address which students are missing…

In 2019, Child Trends partnered with the Institute for Health Research and Policy of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC-IHRP), EMT Associates, Inc., and the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) to publish the first comprehensive policy analysis (see ED613844) to explore codified state statutes and regulations covering…

The number of students with chronic and complex health conditions significantly affects a teacher's ability to teach and meet the needs of the whole child--especially combined with the impact of societal issues such as poverty, violence, and the growing population of families who speak a language other than English at home. Education in America is…

A healthy school is one that fully supports a student's academic, physical, emotional, and social well-being. Increasingly, state education policies are moving beyond a focus on academic mastery to include aspects of healthy schools. Despite a growing knowledge base that stresses important linkages among aspects of well-being, policies tend to…

Schools are the ideal setting for combining state health and education goals for all children. Children and adolescents spend more time in schools than in any other environment outside of their homes. They also form foundational health habits during their school years. By emphasizing school health and wellness, state leadership can support both…

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 2019-20 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California is the comprehensive roadmap at the state level to ensure that all children have the necessary supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty and undocumented kids, from growing…

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that the delegation of nursing tasks in the school setting can be a valuable tool for the school nurse, when based on the nursing definition of delegation and in compliance with state nursing regulations and guidance. Delegation in school nursing is a complex process in which…