Legislative declaration

(1) The general assembly finds that: (a) Access to school-based primary health care for children and adolescents has been shown to increase the use of primary care, reduce the use of emergency rooms, and result in fewer hospitalizations; (b) High-risk students who use school-based health centers are more likely to stay in school and be available for instruction; (c) School-based health centers are effective at managing health conditions, such as asthma; (d) School-based health centers serve primarily low-income schools. The majority of students who attend schools with on-site health centers are from low-income families, are medically uninsured or underinsured, and qualify for free or reduced-cost school lunch. (e) For students from populations primarily served through school-based health centers who do not have access to school-based health care, increasing access to school-linked health-care services will help improve health outcomes for these medically underserved students and their families; and (f) School-based health centers and school-linked health-care services complement existing school health services and school nursing programs.