School Health

Florida’s School Health Program provides professional staff and school-based health services to ensure students are healthy, in the classroom, and ready to learn. The School Health Program is established by Florida Statutes and is a collaborative effort of the Florida Department of Health and Department of Education.

The school health nursing staff requires expertise in pediatrics, public health, and mental health. Health promotion, assessment, and referral skills are also an integral component of the role.

The school nurse conducts illness and injury assessments and intervention, provides health screenings to students and faculty, handles chronic disease management and education, creates individualized nursing plans for students with special needs or disabilities, helps develop guidelines for school policies, and serves as a liaison between school and community health care needs.