Background: National school curriculum statements detail what it is important to learn and are highly context- and discipline-specific. The health and physical education (H&PE) learning areas have multiple learning purposes, and facilitating this in curriculum design is a significant and challenging task. Objective: There is little reporting…

The general science of infection prevention and control can be applied to and adapted for a variety of settings, including kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12). Strategies can be implemented in the classroom and whole school environment to prevent a wide array of illnesses caused by both bacteria and viruses. This science brief presents findings…

The COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency that has spread across Kentucky affecting all age groups. Scientific knowledge about this novel virus continues to evolve. The following guidelines are based upon what is known about mitigating risks of transmission across the Commonwealth to protect all populations. Protecting students and staff…

This document provides an annotated list of Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center resources and federal partner resources. The resources are directed toward public health officials and K-12 planning teams on emergency operations plan development and preparing schools for before, during, and after an…

Environmental health is a segment of public health, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) environmental health, "addresses all the physical, chemical and biological factors external to a person and all the related factors impacting behaviors. It encompasses the assessment and control of those environmental factors that can…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in March 2020, districts across the nation have faced the difficult task of reopening schools safely and keeping them open as community infection rates have risen and fallen. It is useful to learn from the efforts of counties and districts that have been able to reopen schools--and keep them open safely--using…

Improving the school building may well be the most overlooked means of improving student health, safety, and academic performance. Yet in conversations about factors that lead students to academic success, only rarely does the role of the physical environment come to the fore. By downplaying the importance of the building, policymakers and parents…

In this supplemental fact sheet, the Department of Education (the Department) reminds educators in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic that they should not opt to close or decline to provide distance instruction, at the expense of students, to address matters pertaining to services for students with disabilities. Rather, school systems must make…

The purpose of the National Conference was for attendees to: (1) Review research and policy recommendations and goals identified at the November 2015 "Environmental Health at School: Ignored Too Long" panel and facilitated workshop; (2) Hear about risks and exposures at schools and their impact on children; (3) Understand the Centers for…

Policy, systems, and environmental change are now widely accepted as critical to sustaining improvements in community health. Evidence suggests that such systems-level change is most effective when driven by community-based partnerships. Yet, after more than three decades of building community-based partnership work, health inequities have…

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) has established a working group to provide information and resources to parents, students, teachers, schools, and school personnel related to the possible outbreak of COVID-19 ("coronavirus") in school districts and postsecondary schools. Schools play an important role in disseminating…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has made the assessment that COVID-19 (coronavirus) can be characterised as a pandemic and the virus has now spread to many countries and territories. While a lot is still unknown about the virus that causes COVID-19, we do know that it is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is responding to an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The CDC has issued interim guidance to help administrators of public and private childcare programs and K-12 schools plan for and prevent the spread of COVID-19 among…

Working while ill (presenteeism) with symptoms of influenza-like illness can contribute to outbreaks, but little is known about school nurse presenteeism. Missouri Association of School Nurses members (N = 396) were sent a survey in 2013/2014. A chi square test was conducted to compare having a school culture that encourages presenteeism versus…

Physical education has been an integral part of the school curriculum for more than a century. Although the focus has changed over time, the major objective has remained relatively constant: to provide students with the knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and confidence to be physically active throughout their lifetime. As more physical…