State Strategies for Summer Nutrition

Children with limited or uncertain access to meals experience more health-related behavioral and academic challenges than their peers. Federally funded summer nutrition programs are designed to ensure low-income students receive healthy meals all summer long. Yet more than 80 percent of the children who qualify for such summer meal programs do not participate. State boards can do two things to expand the reach of summer nutrition programs: They can support the adoption of state mandates for participation, and they can partner with other state organizations to improve community outreach.

State Strategies for School Nutrition

Featured Items

Indiana, Guam, and the District of Columbia Lead Efforts to Create Healthy School Facilities

The Indiana, Guam, and D.C. state boards of education each received grants through NASBE’s Healthy School Facilities Network, a project aimed at building and enhancing the capacity of states to ensure all students have access to healthy school facilities free from environmental harms.

Empowering Families to Improve Youth Mental Health

State education leaders can foster children’s mental health by increasing families’ preparedness and awareness of available resources and activities.

Engaging All Students

Authors explore the reasons why students increasingly feel uninspired and disengaged at school and outline steps state leaders can take to help schools and districts increase students’ engagement and connectedness.

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From the States

States Face Challenges Building a School Mental Health Workforce

Challenges persist in attracting and retaining this school-based mental health professionals, but some states, including Virginia, Ohio, Colorado, Michigan, and others, are making progress.
States Address Access to Menstrual Products in Schools

States such as Georgia, New York, Utah, and others have increasingly opted to combat “period poverty" by expanding access to free menstrual products in schools.