Check out the Center for Safe and Healthy Schools website, new in the Resource Clearinghouse. Developed by the National Association for State Boards of Education (NASBE) and the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it includes a database of laws and policies from 50 states on more than 40 school health topics.

Did you know that Arkansas promotes a healthy environment by

• Establishing a Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee to advise the school board;
• Administering the CDC's School Health Index: A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide;
• Measuring, on an annual basis, each student's body-mass index (BMI), and sending parents and guardians a Confidential Child Health Report that contains results and guidance;
• Developing a district Wellness Priority Plan that includes goal statements, benchmarks, interventions, and planned actions based on data collected from the School Health Index and BMI assessments; and
• Incorporating goals and objectives for nutrition and physical activity into the annual Consolidated School Improvement Plans submitted to the state.

What are your state's policies and laws relating to student health? Are these policies being modeled in your school and community? Log in and share your thoughts in the comments below.