Health in all Policies: School Sector

Introduction. This study examined associations between school district-level shared use policies (access to school facilities outside school hours), school-level implementation (school shared use practices), and adolescent physical activity.

Methods. Data were obtained from three sources: (a) nationally representative cross-sectional samples of 10th and 12th grade students from US public high schools (HS) in 2012; (b) administrators of the same schools; and (c) on-the-books school district policies. Multilevel mediation analyses examined associations between more specific school district SU policy scales, administrator-reported school SU practices, and student self-reported PA controlling for student and school characteristics, including total number of PA facilities (e.g., gym, pool, etc.).

Results. Daily student PA of 60 minutes or more was significantly positively associated with schools allowing: 1) school-sponsored or school-affiliated groups to use school facilities, and 2) organizations to use indoor facilities. Results also showed higher specificity of district SU policies designating schools as priority users were associated with increased daily student PA, but not district policies designating recreational-oriented community organizations as priority users. We found no association between district policies and reported school SU practices. Similar analyses were run for middle schools; no statistically significant results were found.

Conclusion. The lack of association between district policy and school practice may be related to the fact that nearly all students (88% of HS students) attended schools allowing shared use of facilities. More research is needed to examine this disconnect, as well as the influence of SU policies and practices on other populations, including younger children and adults.