Texas School Health Program

The Texas School Health Program envisions a Texas where all children are healthy, ready to learn, and prepared to make healthy lifelong choices. 

Our mission is to support education and public health partners with impacting school health issues using the "Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child" approach. Evidence shows that when schools address students' health needs, they can improve student performance and ease financial constraints.   

While the Texas School Health Program does not regulate schools, we do provide school health leadership, support, and guidance to Texas school districts. This includes comprehensive school health and safety issues regarding the Whole Child, Whole School, and Whole Community by: 

• Maintaining the linkage between the Texas Department of State Health Services and school districts as it relates to health promotion and chronic disease; 
• Engaging in collaborative efforts with internal and external partners and stakeholders; 
• Ensuring infrastructure to provide support to schools; 
• Serving as the central source for resources and tools in support of school health evidence-based programs, practices, and policies; and  
• Disseminating timely school health-related information and data. 

Announcements

• Texas Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Society (TAAIS) published a list of physicians who are willing to prescribe unassigned Epinephrine and Bronchodilators to Texas school districts.
• The School Health Program has published a Spanish language translation of the School Health Advisory Council: a Guide for Texas School Districts. Both the English and Spanish versions can be found on the School Health Advisory Councils webpage.
• The Opioid Antagonist – Required Reporting of Administered Opioid Antagonist Medication to DSHS is now posted. Any school campus that adopts an opioid antagonist medication administration policy must use this report when a school personnel member or school volunteer administers an opioid antagonist.
• The School Health Program created the Guidelines for Schools Reporting Opioid Antagonists Administration to assist any school personnel member or school volunteer who is reporting an administration of an opioid antagonist on their school campus.
• Additional opioid antagonist resources have been added to the DSHS Required Reporting Forms webpage. These resources include links to prevention toolkits, standing orders, and more.

Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) Model

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model focuses its attention on youth by providing a framework to address health in schools. The goal of the WSCC model is to integrate education and health. By highlighting a wide approach, the WSCC model encompasses connections between health and academic achievement while incorporating evidence-based school policies and practices. These policies and practices emphasize the role of local community support to connect health and academic achievement. The WSCC model has 10 components:

1.  Physical education and physical activity
2. Nutrition environment and services
3. Health education
4. Social and emotional climate
5. Physical environment
6. Health services
7. Counseling, psychological, and social services                                                                                
8. Employee wellness
9. Community involvement
10. Family engagement

By utilizing the WSCC model, the Texas School Health Program serves to support educational entities and public health partners impacting Texas school health issues. Evidence shows that when schools address students’ health needs, they can improve student performance and ease financial constraints.

Resources:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WSCC Model
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WSCC Resources
• Journal of School Health WSCC Supplement
• ASCD. (2016). Learning and health: whole school, whole community, whole child.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). Healthy schools: whole school, whole community, whole child.