Policies regarding general bullying, harassment of gay and lesbian students, and adult attendance at school-related events are less common. Also, many schools have not provided recent staff training on the policies they do have, making strong and uniform enforcement of the policies problematic. The 1998 Massachusetts School Health Education Profile documents the status of many important aspects of school health education across the Commonwealth and monitors changes since 1994. Results indicate that Massachusetts has made significant progress in most areas of school health education. Basic policies regarding school health and safety issues are in place in almost all schools, and most schools have programs to support student health, safety, and achievement.
Some areas of concern remain.
Further, though schools have adopted policies on violence, bullying and harassment, alcohol and drug use and possession, in many instances staff have not been trained on these policies recently enough to ensure effective enforcement. Increased attention to these issues is clearly warranted.