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School Policy
A sun safety school policy covering sun
protection for the children and employees can
significantly reduce skin cancer risk,
especially when the policy is comprehensive and
it strongly encourages sun-safe behaviors.
Why is sun safety
necessary?
Because skin cancer is so preventable!
Aside from avoiding tobacco smoke to prevent
lung cancer, how many other types of cancer can
you think of for which the risk can be greatly
reduced by making a simple behavioral change?
The vast majority of skin cancer is caused by
overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV)
radiation, particularly during childhood.
The incidence continues to increase, and
presently one American dies every hour from this
disease. If children learn how and why to
protect themselves from the sun, they will enjoy
a much lower risk of developing skin cancer.
Schools’ Role & Responsibility
Though parents have a prime responsibility to
teach sun-safe behavior to their children,
schools are automatically involved in this issue
because UV radiation strikes children, as well
as personnel, when they are outdoors on the
school campus. Children can, and sometimes
do, get sunburned at school. This is
significant because childhood sunburns are
linked to the development of melanoma, the most
deadly of the common skin cancers. Schools
could not only teach children the principles of
sun safety but could also adopt policies aimed
at protecting students and staff from the sun’s
harm while they are at school and
school-sponsored events.
Make the policy comprehensive
An effective sun safety policy should address at
least the following issues:
- Covering up
Hats, long clothing, sunglasses
- Sunscreen and lip balm
- Classroom instruction
- Shade options
- Employee education and training
- Communication
- Evaluation
Make it effective
California students, by law, are already
“allowed” to wear a hat and long clothing, and
to use sunscreen, for outdoor activities at
school. Whether in California or
elsewhere, to seriously prevent skin cancer,
create a policy that aims to encourage or
strongly encourage sun protection among students
and personnel.
Make it relevant
UV Season
The strength of UV radiation varies with the
time of year. While sun safety should
probably be a year-round concern for the
lightest individuals, for most areas of
California it makes sense to heighten the focus
on sun safety, or to enforce sun safety policy,
between March 1 and October 31. This is
the time span during which the UV index
routinely reaches or exceeds moderate levels.
For more northern latitudes, April 1 to
September 30 might be appropriate, while for
southern locales, such as Miami, year-round sun
safety would be best.
Confirm the relevant dates for your area by
checking the annual UV index record. It is
provided in graphic format by the National
Weather Service for numerous cities at
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/
uv_index/uv_annual.shtml.
Skin color
Skin pigment is nature’s sunscreen.
Individuals who have the most darkly pigmented
skin have a lower risk of developing skin
cancer. Conversely, those who are lightly
pigmented are at greatest risk. With
respect to pigmentation, the population at most
schools and districts is mixed. An
argument could be made against adopting policy
that would strictly require darkly pigmented
individuals to cover up. However, it would
be unfair to ignore the vulnerability, or impede
the use of sun-protective measures by the
population (even if small in number) of lightly
or moderately pigmented individuals. Those
who have very light skin have a special need to
be supported, strongly encouraged, reminded, or
perhaps required to practice sun safety.
Follow these links
to:
Create policy for an
Individual School
>>>
Create policy for a
School District
>>>
Review a Sample School Sun
Safety Policy >>>
Explore more sample
policies and references >>>
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