Asthma is a leading cause of missed time from school.¹ Students at risk for severe allergic reactions must be protected when they’re away from home. It’s important for students to attend schools that keep them safe and healthy so they can focus on learning.
The report, the 2016 State Honor Roll™ of Asthma and Allergy Policies for Schools (SHR), identifies states that make it a priority to create healthy school settings for students with asthma and allergies. This annual report lists states with comprehensive laws and policies aimed at keeping children with asthma and allergies healthy at school.
The SHR shows the 23 core measures that target the needs of children with asthma and allergies in schools. States make our Honor Roll when they meet 18 of 23 targets.
AAFA’s Fifteen Honor Roll States
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia*
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (new)
- North Carolina
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- Washington
- West Virginia
This year, we congratulate Connecticut for becoming the first state in the U.S. to achieve all 23 benchmarks. We also applaud New York for joining our Honor Roll for the first time.
States in bold have been on our list every year since our first report in 2008. We applaud them for showing steady leadership in statewide school policies that protect students with asthma, food allergies and other related allergic diseases.
The number of states on our Honor Roll has increased every year since 2011. Much progress has been made. For instance, almost all states now allow schools to keep medicine available to treat severe allergic reactions. Twelve states require that schools keep epinephrine auto-injectors on hand for any student who may need them.
New This Year
This year, AAFA added a new “extra-credit” indicator to the report: Are schools allowed to stock asthma quick-relief rescue medicines (albuterol)?
The report notes nine states that allow public schools to stock albuterol. New Jersey has gone a step further. It is the only state in the nation to require public schools to keep quick-relief medicines on hand for asthma. The 2016 SHR includes a Spotlight Article that focuses on albuterol stocking.
The SHR includes a core measure about the use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques. This year, the report includes another Spotlight Article that highlights the role of IPM in creating healthy school environments. Pests, such as rodents and insects, are allergens that can trigger asthma and allergies.
*The District of Columbia, while not a state, enacts and administers laws for the Washington, DC Public School System; we refer to it as a state only to simplify our wording.
[1] CDC. National Surveillance of Asthma: United States, 2001-2010. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_03/sr03_035.pdf.
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