Advocacy in Action: NASN's 2024 Advocacy and Legislative Priorities.

All nurses have a responsibility to advocate. Advocacy is the eighth school nurse standard and can be actualized in many ways. NASN has established advocacy priorities to provide members with strategic advocacy objectives to advance their school nursing practice. One aspect of these priorities is legislative advocacy. The NASN board of directors puts legislative advocacy into action when they visit their Congress members on Capitol Hill. This article describes NASN's advocacy priorities and how school nurse visits to "the Hill" introduces legislative priorities to legislators.

It Has Been a Big Year for NASN's Advocacy Efforts!

Annually, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) sets advocacy goals, including legislative priorities. This past January, the NASN Board of Directors resumed their in-person Hill Day, with over 100 appointments with Members of Congress and Senators. This article highlights NASN's 2022-2023 legislative priorities and advocacy efforts, along with briefly discussing the relationship of Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to Medicaid reimbursement for school nursing services.

Amplifying Advocacy for Student Health and School Nursing Services.

Annually, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) sets advocacy goals, including legislative and policy priorities. Activities this past year continued to focus on assistance for school nurses to manage the ongoing pandemic by providing for additional school nurses and supplies. In addition, NASN advocated for legislation to provide grants for school nurses in Title 1 schools, to reduce tobacco use, and to address social determinants of health. This article provides a brief summary of NASN's 2021-2022 national advocacy efforts.

Advocacy for School Nurses and Student Health and Safety: Highlighting National and State Efforts.

Annually, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) sets advocacy goals. The goals include legislative and policy priorities. The COVID-19 pandemic brought attention to the need to heighten advocacy efforts, specifically to provide for additional school nurses and supplies necessary to meet the challenge of safely returning students to school. While advocating at the national level, NASN also encouraged advocacy at the state and local levels. This article provides a brief summary of NASN's advocacy efforts as well as providing examples from two different state associations demonstrating the importance of collaboration in advocacy efforts in areas related to the pandemic and in general areas related to school nursing.

Protecting American Lungs and Reversing Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act.

Annually, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) sets advocacy goals. The goals include legislative and policy priorities. This article sets forth current NASN legislative priorities and results of advocacy that benefit students. The NASN Board of Directors are instrumental in moving policy priorities forward. In addition, this article shares NASN advocacy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Power of Influence: School Nurse Stories.

School nurses have influence, and this influence is ignited with school nurse stories. School nurses must tell school staff, leaders, families, and students what they do to help students access their education. School boards, city councils, and legislators need to know the knowledge, skills, and judgment school nurses use daily. NASN understands that school nurses benefit from a "how to" kit and has developed tools to empower school nurses in advocating for their important role in supporting the health and learning of students. This article provides an overview this newly developed electronic toolkit while at the same time reinforcing the power of influence when sharing your stories.