CDC Report Reviews School Laws and Policies Concerning Child and Adolescent Health
February 8, 2008 - According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), school health laws and policies can lead to improved wellbeing and academic performance of children and adolescents in schools. These laws and policies can promote programs and strategies to create an environment in which youth can be healthy and ready to learn.
The CDC has released a new report that reviews such laws and policies. The report is intended to encourage federal, state and local public health and education practitioners and policymakers to consider the potential for law and policy to improve students’ health and educational outcomes.
The report’s framework is based on the eight component model of a Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP), which involves planned, organized, and comprehensive courses, services, policies and programs designed to meet the health and safety needs of students as well as school staff.
The report begins with a brief overview of the role of laws in schools. In section II it discusses key federal and state statutory laws concerning issues of discrimination, disability rights, privacy, and educational programs, in addition to concepts of civil liability and immunity for the acts of governmental agents in school settings. Section III describes the legal framework for each component of the CSHP. Each section begins with a brief description of the core component and provides a review of how relevant laws and policies can influence the health of children and adolescents.
In addition, legal and policy themes that emerged from the review are also relayed in the report including: 1) The integration of public health and education services; 2) Division of responsibilities; 3) National primacy; and 4) State and local innovation.
The report was published in the Journal of School Health and can be viewed at http://www.ashaweb.org/pdfs/josh782.pdf.
For additional information, please contact CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health at 800-CDC-INFO or cdcinfo@cdc.gov.
Source: “A CDC Review of School Laws and Policies Concerning Child and Adolescent Health,” CDC. Prepared by the Centers for Law and the Public’s Health: A Collaborative at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities. Published in the February 2008, Vol. 78, No. 2 edition of the Journal of School Health.