Building school health programs through public health initiatives: the first three years of the Healthy Hawaii Initiative partnership for school health.

Background: The Healthy Hawaii Initiative, funded through the Hawaii tobacco settlement, allocates funds from the Hawaii Department of Health to the Hawaii Department of Education for school programs that promote health and reduce the burden of chronic disease. This article outlines progress, challenges, and insights from the first 3 years of the Hawaii Partnership for Standards-based School Health Education (the Partnership).

Context: The Hawaii Department of Education added health education as a content area to the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards in 1999.