Health

Learn more about how the physical well-being of students and staff impact schools
Photograph of a woman in her 40s or 50s, eyes closed, sitting at a desk holding a small portable fan in one hand with the other hand on her neck.
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Teaching Profession Teaching During Menopause? You May Want to Hear This News
The FDA will remove warning labels on HRT, a treatment for menopause. Here's why it matters.
Elizabeth Heubeck, November 13, 2025
4 min read
Volunteers with Houston Independent School District and the Houston Food Bank distribute food on May 18, 2024, at Sam Houston Math, Science and Technology Center in Houston.
Volunteers with the Houston school district and the Houston Food Bank distribute food following a destructive storm on May 18, 2024, at Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center in Houston. Schools, which often team with community organizations to respond to crises, are preparing for a lapse in SNAP funding that could leave students and some staff vulnerable to hunger.
Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP
Families & the Community Schools Scramble as SNAP Lapse Nears, Affecting Students and Staff
Schools prepared by partnering with food pantries to provide food for families.
Evie Blad, October 30, 2025
5 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Video The Top Priority for This District’s First Female Athletic Director
Protecting student-athletes from heat-related injuries and illnesses is the top priority for this district's first female athletic director.
Yi-Jo Shen & Kaylee Domzalski, September 18, 2025
1:53
Left: Republican Sen. Laura Wakim Chapman, chair of the West Virginia Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, holds a map of the U.S. on the Senate floor depicting the states, including West Virginia, that do not allow religious or philosophical exemptions for required school vaccinations on Feb. 21, 2025 in Charleston, West Virginia. Right: West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey speaks during a news conference at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington on April 22, 2025.
Left: A U.S. map of states without religious or philosophical vaccine exemptions. Right: Republican West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey speaks at a news conference in Washington on April 22, 2025. West Virginia is at the center of the ongoing debate over school vaccine mandates after Morrisey this year issued an executive order requiring religious exemptions.
Left: Will Price/West Virginia Legislature; Right: Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts With Childhood Vaccination Rates Falling, Debate on Religious Exemptions Grows
There is growing pressure from parents and the Trump administration for exemptions to be expanded. The U.S. Supreme Court could decide.
Mark Walsh, September 17, 2025
10 min read
Junior Ryan Edson takes a drink of water during a morning football practice at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 2, 2025.
Junior Ryan Edson takes a drink of water during a morning football practice at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 2, 2025.
Noah Devereaux for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Download Student Safety: Everything You Need to Know About Heat Stroke
As summer heat waves stretch later into fall—and with higher temperatures arriving earlier in spring—protecting student-athletes from heat-related illnesses has become a year-round concern.
Laura Baker, Vanessa Solis & Gina Tomko, September 15, 2025
1 min read
Junior Finn Chaney grabs a water bottle at a morning football practice at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 2, 2025.
Junior Finn Chaney grabs a water bottle at a morning football practice at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 2, 2025.
Noah Devereaux for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Series How Schools Are Tackling Heat Illness
There is a growing concern of heat illness among student-athletes as many states are experiencing extremely hot summers and warmer falls.
September 11, 2025
Student Well-Being & Movement Video One Small Change Helped This Football Team Prevent Heat Injuries
Dehydration and heat stroke are serious concerns for high schools and their athletics programs.
CJ Riculan, September 11, 2025
2:26
Student Well-Being & Movement Video Heat Safety: How This High School Marching Band Stays Cool
Summer heat and rising temperatures present a risk to the musicians in the high school marching band.
Yi-Jo Shen, September 9, 2025
2:07
Senior Joaquin Garcia takes a drink of water on the sideline during a morning football practice at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 2, 2025.
Senior Joaquin Garcia takes a drink of water on the sideline during a morning football practice at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 2, 2025.
Noah Devereaux for Education Week
School Climate & Safety Heat Illness Is Preventable Even on a Budget, Experts Say
Building awareness of risk is a critically important strategy for under-resourced school districts.
Jennifer Vilcarino, September 5, 2025
5 min read
Football players gather around a coach during practice at Heard County High School in Franklin, Ga., on Aug. 27, 2025.
Football players gather around a coach during practice at Heard County High School in Franklin, Ga., on Aug. 27, 2025.
Lynsey Weatherspoon for Education Week
School Climate & Safety ‘We Can Save Other Athletes’: How One State Is Fighting Heat-Related Deaths
The state has encouraged schools to modify their practices and monitoring during tough conditions.
Jennifer Vilcarino, September 5, 2025
5 min read
Anna Hicks prepares a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at the Andrews County Health Department, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Andrews, Texas.
Florida's governor and surgeon general have announced plans to end the state's vaccine mandates. In this photo, a measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is prepared at the Andrews County Health Department in Andrews, Texas, on April 8, 2025.
Annie Rice/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Florida Moves to End School Vaccine Mandates. Will Other States Follow?
Florida state leaders announced plans to get rid of all vaccine mandates, including for schools, making it the first state to do so.
Arianna Prothero, September 3, 2025
5 min read
Photo of children’s shadows on pavement.
iStock
School & District Management Is Missing 3 Weeks of School a Problem? A Quarter of Students Say No
District leaders say cutting absences is among their most pressing challenges. Many students don't think it's such a big deal.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, August 20, 2025
4 min read
The ChatGPT app icon is seen on a smartphone screen on Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago.
The ChatGPT app icon is seen on a smartphone screen on Aug. 4, 2025, in Chicago. A new study found that ChatGPT can encourage vulnerable teenagers to engage in potentially harmful acts or behavior.
Kiichiro Sato/AP
Artificial Intelligence Researchers Posed as a Teen in Crisis. AI Gave Them Harmful Advice Half the Time
ChatGPT prompted teens to harmful acts, a study reveals.
Jennifer Vilcarino, August 18, 2025
6 min read
Tight cropped illustration of a nurse or doctor in blue scrubs and wearing a stethoscope around their neck. In the upper right corner of the image there is a Caucasian hand being held by a Black nurse's hand. The nurse is wearing a light blue medical glove.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement The Health Trends Schools Should Be Watching This Year
Poor health leads students to miss school. But there are strategies schools can adopt to keep kids healthy.
Arianna Prothero, August 12, 2025
2 min read