School Health Services

School Health Services is comprised of both regional and central office professional staff who collaborate with other Department of Public Health programs and the Massachusetts Department of Education to provide ongoing school health service systems development and technical assistance to the Commonwealth's 351 public school districts and approximately 600 nonpublic schools. This represents approximately 880,000 public school students and 120,000 nonpublic school students.

Consistent with 1998 legislative report, Options for Developing School Health Services in Massachusetts, the recommended school nurse to student ratio is 1.0 fulltime equivalent (FTE) certified nurse in each building with 250 to 500 students. In buildings with more than 500 students, there should be 0.1 FTE for each additional 50 students. For buildings with fewer than 250 students, the ratio is calculated at 0.1 FTE: 25 students.

What's New

• School Health Manual
• Preparing for Return to School

Topics

• About School Health
• Emergency Preparedness Planning
• Essential School Health Services
• Laws and Regulations
• Continuing Education
• Medication Administration
• Infectious Disease Updates
• School Health Record
• School Health Screening
• Publications and Additional Resources
• Privacy and Security Information

This program is a part of the Division Primary Care and Health Access .

Contact Information

Anne Sheetz, Director
Office of School Health Services
Division of Primary Care and Health Access
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
250 Washington Street, 5th floor
Boston, MA 02108
phone: 617-624-6060
fax: 617-624-6062
TTY: 617-624-5992
email: Anne.Sheetz@state.ma.us

---

This information is provided by the School Health Services within the Department of Public Health.