Children's Health Law and Policy

Catalog description

The purpose of this course is to teach interested students the application of law to critical public health issues that affect children and youth. Students will first learn basic principles of public health including the distinction between health promotion, disease prevention, and health protection. Next, the course will address the constitutional and statutory foundation of public health law, how legislative and regulatory decisions must negotiate the balance between individual rights and public good, and how the principles of parents patriae and state police powers affect child health. Cases studies in the areas of obesity, reproductive health rights of minors, mandatory school immunizations, student drug testing, and violence prevention will illustrate the application of public health jurisprudence from the national to the state levels.