New Online State School Health Policy Collection Available from State Policymakers Group.

Business Editors/Education Writers

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 2003

A national database of state school health policies is now online through the work of the National Association of State Boards of Education. The collection includes legal codes, rules, standards, administrative orders, mandates, resolutions, guidelines, and other means of exercising authority in key areas of school health.

"This is the first national database that brings into one place state policies on a variety of school health topics. Education decision makers and school practitioners will be able to easily access brief summaries and the full text of their own state's policies and compare their policies with those of other states. We expect that this tool will help states learn from each other and share exemplary policies," said Brenda Welburn, NASBE Executive Director.

Policy profiles of all fifty states can be accessed at www.nasbe.org/HealthySchools. Hyperlinks to the actual policies are integrated into the concise policy descriptions wherever possible--the vast majority have active links--and policy adoption dates are noted.

NASBE's policy collection effort is designed to complement the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2000 (SHPPS) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). The initial set of school health topics for the policy collection reflects priority areas of NASBE and DASH and includes:

-- General health education requirements;

-- HIV, STD, and pregnancy prevention requirements;

-- Tobacco use prevention requirements;

-- Asthma management and school medications policies;

-- School health staff qualifications;

-- School health program coordination policies; and

-- School records confidentiality requirements.

To help provide contextual information, the database also includes key federal laws regarding school health and guidance on the challenges of comparing policies among states, a glossary of definitions and terms, and sample policies drawn from NASBE's publications, Someone at School has AIDS: A Complete Guide to Education Policies Concerning HIV Infection and Fit, Healthy, and Ready to Learn: A School Health Policy Guide.

NASBE represents America's state and territorial boards of education. Our principal objectives are to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking; advocate equality of access to educational opportunity; promote excellence in the education of all students; and assure responsible lay governance of education.