Sarah Classen, Jacob Szeszulski, Nalini Ranjit, Genesis Rivas-Ponce, Deanna M Hoelscher
Schools signal health priorities through policies. Using a repeated cross-sectional study design, we compare the presence and strength of policies related to four topics-physical activity, nutrition, mental health, and bullying-described in elementary school Campus Improvement Plans (CIPs; also called school improvement plans) within Texas, across four Texas Public Health Regions (PHRs), and between 2016 and 2020. CIPs were collected using a multi-stage probability-based survey approach, scored using an adapted WellSAT tool, and analyzed to determine associations between PHR or year and health topic. Across 170 CIPs, bullying was the most frequently addressed topic, followed by mental health, physical activity, and nutrition. On average, schools addressed 2.7 ± 1.3 topics within their CIP; 38.2% of schools addressed all four, 26.5% addressed three, 12.4% addressed two, 15.3% addressed one, and 7.6% addressed none. CIPs in the same district had high levels of clustering (ICCs = 0.28-0.55). The mostly rural Panhandle PHR included the fewest topics in their CIPs and used the weakest policy language. Between 2016 and 2020, there was a decrease in the proportion of CIPs that addressed nutrition; the strength of language for mental health and bullying also decreased. Regional and time trends reveal opportunities for more robust school health policy interventions.
