Tobacco Use Prevention and Education

The Montana Office of Public Instruction School Tobacco Use Prevention and Education program provides technical assistance and resources to Montana school districts through coordination with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

The purpose of the program is to:

• Expand and strengthen the capacity of local education agencies to prevent and reduce youth tobacco use in coordination with the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program.
• Provide technical assistance to public schools by promoting compliance of the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act and in the development of comprehensive tobacco free school policies.

School Health Profiles

The School Health Profiles helps state and district education and health agencies monitor the current status of school health education; school health policies related to HIV infection/AIDS, tobacco use prevention, unintentional injuries and violence, physical activity, and food service; physical education; asthma management activities; and family and community involvement in school health programs. State and local education and health agencies conduct the survey biennially at the middle/junior high school and senior high school levels in their states or districts, respectively.

Coordinated School Health

The intent is for the state health and education agencies to collaboratively focus efforts on developing the infrastructure within each agency that can effectively promote coordinated school health education programs.

The priorities of the program are to:

• provide support for Montana schools and to improve the capability of schools to provide effective, appropriate and culturally relevant school health education programs to students, and
• implement an organizational structure with the state education agency and the state health agency that will provide leadership and coordination for school health education programs that are designed to prevent health risk behaviors and health problems.

Wellness Resources: Guidance for Schools

With the passing of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, school districts that participate in federally subsidized child nutrition programs (National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program and AfterSchool Snack Program) were required to adopt a local school wellness policy. Most schools had this policy in place by the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year. The resources found on this website will help school districts in implementing, evaluating and updating these policies so that the school environment supports healthy nutrition and opportunity for physical activity for all.

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to the schools and community members featured in this guide for their cooperation and willingness to share their experiences and information. Thank you to Dayle Hayes, MS, RD (EatWellatSchool@aol.com) who generously shared resources and information featured in this booklet. Montana’s students are fortunate to attend schools that value healthy foods and physical activity, such as those schools featured in this booklet. We commend Montana schools on their dedication to promoting a healthy school environment and encourage them to learn from the good examples modeled in this kit.

Vision Statement for the Health Enhancement Divison

To encourage the development of coordinated school health education programs that are designed to prevent major health problems and health-risk behaviors among youth and promote healthy lifestyles, families and communities.

State and national studies show that many Montana school-aged youth engage in behaviors that put them at risk for injuries, HIV/sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide. Additionally, health risk behaviors – such as tobacco use, improper diets, and physical inactivity – developed during childhood place young people at risk for chronic disease later in life.

The Health Enhancement and Safety Division plays a key role in fostering and maintaining the physical, emotional, social and mental health of students and their environment while promoting healthy lifestyles as personal and societal responsibilities. The three units within the Division – Coordinated School Health Unit, School Nutrition Unit, and Traffic Education Unit – include the following programs and areas of responsibility: Health Enhancement (Health and Physical Education), HIV/STD Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities, 21st Century Community Learning Centers, School Nutrition Programs (School Lunch, School Breakfast, Milk, After School Snack, Summer Food, Cooperative Food Purchasing, Food Distribution, and Nutrition Education and Training), Driver Education and Advanced Driver Education.

The Coordinated School Health work is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities and 21st Century Community Learning Centers programs are funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Education. The School Nutrition and nutrition education and training programs are funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Tobacco Prevention program is funded through a cooperative agreement with Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services, and the Driver Education and Advanced Driver Education programs are funded with state special revenue/proprietary funds.

Division Goals

The major goals of the Health Enhancement and Safety Division include:

1. Provide technical assistance to schools and communities in all program areas, including implementing guidance of federal program guidelines and requirements. Responsibilities include training, program planning, development, implementation, assessment, and reporting.
2. Provide curricular and instructional materials to schools for use by teachers in the program areas identified. These materials include curricular scope and sequence, curricula guidelines, and classroom-based activities, as well as guidelines for program and student assessment.
3. Develop and maintain a cadre of regional Health Enhancement/HIV Trainers who are trained and equipped to provide health-related training to professional, administrative and support staff at the school site.
4. Develop and maintain a cadre of Driver Education Instructors who are trained and equipped to provide traffic-related instruction to students and advanced training to adults.
5. Promote a coordinated school health approach in Montana schools and increase the number of schools that provide planned, sequential and age-appropriate health and physical education at each grade level.
6. Monitor the availability, utilization and quality of school food services in Montana schools.
7. Monitor the health-related behavior of Montana youth in six categories: intentional and unintentional injury, tobacco use, drug and alcohol use, dietary imbalances, sexual behavior, and physical inactivity. The monitoring of health-related behaviors will include the general student population in grades 7 - 12, youth in alternative high school settings, American Indian youth in reservation and in urban schools, and youth with special needs.
8. Maintain cooperative working relationships with:
• other state agencies, professional associations, state non-profit and for-profit organizations, and community-based organizations to effectively provide a continuum of services for youth to promote positive health behaviors through the most cost-effective means possible;
• Montana’s school administrators through frequent communication and presentations at regional and state association meetings in order to secure administrative support for program activities;
• the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Education, the highway traffic safety community and the Montana Legislature to maintain existing sources of funding, provide all necessary applications and reports, and provide information and input regarding future program goals and objectives; and
• other programs within the Office of Public Instruction, including communication both up and down the chain of command, in order to coordinate the effective delivery of educational services.
9. Conduct evaluation activities to provide information necessary to assess progress and to assist in improving division work plan activities.