Healthy Students, Promising Futures (HSPF) is a national initiative led by Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) that supports states and school districts in expanding and strengthening their school Medicaid program to meet the health needs of all students.
A key component of this work is the HSPF Learning Collaborative. Participating state teams — including representatives from school districts and state Medicaid and education agencies — are offered a unique opportunity to share challenges and solutions and engage directly with Medicaid policy experts and HSPF’s national partner organizations. HSPF provides participants with technical assistance and individualized support.
What We Do
Since 2016, HSC has worked with states to build stronger policy frameworks that support the health and well-being of public school students, specifically by expanding access to federal Medicaid funding for school-based physical, mental and behavioral health services.
HSC also develops and publishes guidance and resources — including policy briefs, reports, state and school district toolkits, case studies, and webinars — available to all.
To learn more about school Medicaid, view our state activity tracker, school Medicaid expansion map and state fact sheets, which detail the school health services and providers covered by Medicaid in each state.
If you have questions, program staff are available to answer inquiries about state programs and the national school Medicaid landscape.
Technical Assistance
As of 2025, more than two dozen states have expanded their school Medicaid program to cover services outside of a student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). These states are aligning with federal policy to increase access to — and sustainable funding for — physical, behavioral and mental school health services.
Yet even in states that have expanded coverage, many schools face challenges when seeking Medicaid reimbursement, including the burden of determining which school health personnel the state Medicaid program deems “qualified” for Medicaid reimbursement.
HSC provides technical assistance to states committed to expanding school health access, educates school and policy officials about changes to Medicaid policy and also works to:
- Help policymakers understand how existing state laws might limit Medicaid reimbursement for school health; develop strategies to expand school-based Medicaid programs; and implement trainings to leverage new funding
- Advise state Medicaid and education agencies on how to assess leading health issues and ensure that the health services needed to address them are Medicaid-reimbursable
- Recommend ways that federal agencies can offer support, technical assistance and replicable models to states and school districts in expanding Medicaid programs
- Provide stakeholders with guidance on identifying key health and education decision-makers and building support at the state and local levels
History
HSC advocated for the 2014 federal Medicaid policy change that expanded funding for school health services provided to all students enrolled in Medicaid. HSC also recognized the need to support states and school districts in implementing that change.
In 2016, with support from HSC and Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services established the HSPF Learning Collaborative to help states and school districts leverage new policy opportunities to increase access to school health services.
HSC and TFAH took over and co-led the project until 2019, when HSC assumed leadership and continued the effort with a network of national partners.
Funding
This work is made possible with support from:
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Kaiser Permanente
- School Health Corporation
- William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
