| While health education is considered part of the curriculum in California's public school districts, little information exists about the role, organization and support of health education. This descriptive study was designed to assess the status of health education at the district level in California's public schools, and determine the extent that districts meet state and national recommendations.;A district-level health education questionnaire, developed by-the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the 1994 School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS), was modified for use in California. The questionnaire was mailed to a stratified random sample of 338 districts in March 1998, and 230 districts (68%) returned the questionnaire.;The findings suggest the infrastructure to support health education in California's school districts is not well established. Compared to school districts in the United States, California's school districts have less infrastructure elements to support health education. There is a lack of leadership at the district-level, and a lack of district-level coordinators and teachers prepared in health education. Forty percent (40%) of the districts do not have a person responsible for coordinating health education, and 66% of the district-level coordinators spend 10% or less of their time on health education. One-third of the coordinators have professional preparation or credentials related to health, and most teachers responsible for health education have physical education credentials. State and national recommendations for effective comprehensive school health education programs have not been implemented in most districts. Despite these findings, 76.5% of the respondents believe health education is "equally" or "more important" to students' success in school relative to all other subjects.;Investing in health education is one way that schools can improve the well-being and competence of children and youth, however legislated and institutionalized fragmentation is a major barrier to achieving this goal. Serious consideration must be given to state legislation making health education a high school graduation requirement, thus ensuring its place in the "core curriculum" for all high school students. |
