ERIC Number: ED673324
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025-May
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Student Health and Wellness at the State Level. Policy Snapshot
Zeke Perez Jr.
Education Commission of the States
Research indicates that the provision of quality health services in a school setting increases the use of primary care for adolescents. With an ever-changing array of physical and mental health needs for students and staff, state policymakers are adapting comprehensive health supports. This captures a spectrum of student health support elements, including health education, mental and behavioral health, and nutrition services. Recent policies have ranged from targeted adjustments like allowing school nurses to administer specific medications to broader approaches like establishing universal free school meals or creating school-based health centers. Student health and wellness has been at the forefront of governors' State of the State addresses for the past several years. It first surfaced as an emerging trend in 2019 and continued as a top issue every year since. Additionally, health is consistently one of the highest volume topic areas for introduced legislation in Education Commission of the States' State Education Policy Tracking tool. This Policy Snapshot reviews trends in recent legislation and in governor's State of the State addresses from 2022 to 2025 and highlights examples of enacted policy in that timeframe related to K-12 student health and wellness as a reference for state leaders interested in taking similar action.
Descriptors: Child Health, School Health Services, Wellness, Educational Legislation, State Legislation, Elementary Secondary Education, Physical Health, Mental Health, Nutrition, Barriers, Access to Health Care
Education Commission of the States. ECS Distribution Center, 700 Broadway Suite 1200, Denver, CO 80203-3460. Tel: 303-299-3692; Fax: 303-296-8332; e-mail: ecs@ecs.org; Web site: http://www.ecs.org
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Education Commission of the States (ECS)
Identifiers - Location: California; Colorado; Delaware; Louisiana; Maryland; Mississippi; Oklahoma; Rhode Island; Wisconsin; Kansas; New Hampshire; Utah; Virginia; Hawaii; Pennsylvania; Tennessee; Connecticut
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A