The Landscape of Federal K-12 School Health Efforts, 2010-2020

This report by the National School Health Collaborative (NSHC) is a systemic review of federal programs, initiatives, and funding streams that support school health work. It is part of a larger effort to map how the US federal government defines, funds, and supports school health.

This fits into the NSHC’s vision to fundamentally shift how school health is integrated into—and supported within—school, district, state, and federal policies and programs to more directly improve student and staff health, particularly for those who have faced systemic barriers to receiving necessary supports and services.

Summarized key findings from the report include:

• The U.S. Departments of Education (ED), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Justice (DOJ) each play a central role in federal school health efforts.
• Existing school health-related interagency collaborations lack representation from all relevant organizations.
• Federal efforts to support students’ physical health are largely siloed from those focused on broader elements of school health, such as social and emotional climate.
• Few federal school health efforts include a focus on employee wellness.
• Federal school health efforts to reach students who face systemic barriers to health and education are limited.