Education Policy: Addressing Racial Health Disparities in Educational Contexts

Abstract

Race, ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status (SES) influence physical and mental health throughout the life course. Institutional and interpersonal discrimination is particularly detrimental, especially for children, and is associated with poor health outcomes. One of the most important determinants of long-term health is lifelong educational attainment. Center-based Early Childhood Education (ECE) and School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) can help overcome educational obstacles and increase medical services in disadvantaged populations while fostering health equity. Educators involved in ECE programs and SBHCs for poor and minority youth must be involved in the policy making process in order to ensure that educational quality is considered essential to the long-term effects of health equity.