Establish a school and/or district health and safety advisory council that is composed of diverse members of the school and community, including family members of students and student representatives.

Working jointly with stakeholders (of children's education, health, and safety) helps to promote a safe school environment that best nurtures the health and mental health of students. Community partners are more likely to assume responsibility for meeting goals and objectives that they help identify jointly and that reflect the community's concerns and issues than they will for goals and objectives determined independently by schools who subsequently seek community help.

In some school districts, each school may have an advisory council. In others, both schools and district or only the district will have an advisory council. Councils can be designed to address all components of a coordinated school health and safety program such as health and safety instruction, a healthful and safe school environment, health and mental health services, physical education, school counseling, food services, school site health promotion for faculty and staff, and integration of school and community programs. A council should advise staff members who are in positions to develop school health- and safety-related policies (e.g., school principal at the school level; superintendent and/or school board at the district level).

Councils can provide advice on a variety of health and safety issues. They can operate as advocates for students and families, provide support and advice concerning controversial health issues, advise on fiscal planning, as well as on evaluation, accountability and quality control. They can help school administrators and the school health and safety coordinator determine community needs, identify resources in the community, coordinate activities at school with those of other community agencies and organizations, improve communications between schools and the communities they serve, and recommend policy changes.

Family representatives and students on the advisory councils can help ensure that families and students are valued and that their interests are protected by school health and safety decisions. Seek diverse membership so that both genders are represented, there is geographic diversity, and the racial and ethnic groups of the community are well-represented. Welcome community representatives from youth organizations, government, service agencies (health-related and social services), justice and safety-related agencies (e.g., emergency medical services, fire, police), faith-based institutions, media, and business/industry. In addition to community members, a school health and safety council should include the school health and safety coordinator (Guideline 0-04) as well as school personnel who represent components of the school's (or district's) health and safety programs.

American Academy of Pediatrics. School Health Leadership Training Kit. Section 6. Establishing a School Health Council. 2001. Available online: http://www.schoolhealth.org/.

American Cancer Society. Improving School Health: A Guide to School Health Councils. A series of guidebooks for volunteers and staff. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society; 1999.

Carlyon P, Carlyon W, McCarthy AR. Family and community involvement in school health. In: Marx E, Wooley SF, eds. Health Is Academic: A Guide to Coordinated School Health Programs. New York, NY: Teachers College Press; 1998:67-95.

Epstein JL, Coates L, Clark-Salinas K, Sanders MG, Simon B. Partnership 2000 Schools Manual: Improving School-Family Community Connections. An Inventory of Present Practices of School-Family-Community Connections. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University; 1997.

Fetro JV. Implementing coordinated school health programs in local schools. In: Marx E, Wooley SF, eds. Health Is Academic: A Guide to Coordinated School Health Programs. New York, NY: Teachers College Press; 1998:15-42.

Iowa Department of Public Health, Division of Family and Community Health. Promoting Healthy Youth, Schools, and Communities: A Guide to Community-School Health Advisory Councils. Des Moines, IA: Iowa Department of Public Health, 2001. Available at: http://208.142.197.5/hkn/pdfs/PDF-Part 1.pdf.