Tag Archives: School Health

Implementing Sex-Related Education in Mississippi Public Schools

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In 2011, the Mississippi Legislature enacted a law (§37-13-171 et seq.) that required each local school board to adopt an abstinence-only or abstinence-plus policy on sex-related education (SRE) and to implement an SRE curriculum beginning in the 2012-13 school year.  This law is scheduled to expire July 1, 2016, unless the Legislature takes action to extend the act.

Since enactment of the law in 2011, the Center for Mississippi Health Policy has conducted several studies designed to provide information to … Read more...

Developmental Screening in Early Childhood

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The Center for Mississippi Health Policy commissioned Mississippi State University’s Social Science Research Center (SSRC) to conduct a study implementing developmental screening in each of the eleven Pre-Kindergarten Early Learning Collaboratives funded by the State. The goal of the study was to determine the developmental concerns of children entering Pre-K in Mississippi and the policy implications that these needs have for the state.

The Study

The project used the Ages and Stages Questionnaires, Third Edition (ASQ-3) and the Ages and … Read more...

Childhood Immunizations: Mississippi’s Mandatory School Immunization Law

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Mississippi law mandates that all children attending school must be vaccinated against certain diseases.  All states have similar laws but vary in the number and type of exemptions allowed.  Mississippi allows only medical exemptions.

The Center for Mississippi Health Policy has prepared an Issue Brief that summarizes the scientific literature on the safety and efficacy of childhood immunizations, outlines the legal environment for Mississippi’s policies, and examines policy issues related to exemptions. A key focus of the policy analysis is … Read more...

Assessing the Impact of the Mississippi Healthy Students Act on Childhood Obesity

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The Center for Mississippi Health Policy collaborated with researchers from three Mississippi universities — The University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and The University of Mississippi — to evaluate the impact of the 2007 Mississippi Healthy Students Act on childhood obesity in the state.  The research was funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Bower Foundation and was conducted from 2008 through 2012.  The final report, entitled Assessing the Impact of the Mississippi Healthy Students Act: Year … Read more...

Assessing the Impact of the Mississippi Healthy Students Act on Childhood Obesity: Year 3 Research

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University of Southern Mississippi researchers have found a significant decline in the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity among elementary age students in Mississippi public schools. The rate dropped from 43.0 percent in 2005 to 37.3 percent in 2011. Data from the 2011 Child and Youth Prevalence of Obesity Study (CAYPOS) also documented a significant drop in the combined prevalence of overweight and obesity for white students, but not for black students. Rates for all students in all grades have … Read more...