Commonly Asked Questions about the School Health Profiles (Profiles)

1. Am I required to complete the Profiles questionnaires?

Participation in the Profiles survey is voluntary. However, the information collected is extremely valuable to the State of Texas. We use this information to obtain funding, target resources, plan professional development for school staff, and develop and implement policies and practices to improve student health.

2. Will my responses be kept confidential?

Yes. Respondents are never identified either as individuals or by their school name. All respondent answers are reported in an aggregate format only.

3. We do not have a lead health education teacher. Who should complete the Lead Health Education Teacher questionnaire?

You should select a staff person who is knowledgeable about instruction on health topics at your school. This person might not be a health education teacher—he or she could be a physical education teacher, the school nurse, or an assistant principal.

4. We do not teach health education at this school. Do I still need to complete the Lead Health Education Teacher questionnaire?

Yes. Even if your school does not teach health education, some of the topics on the questionnaire might be covered in other classes such as physical education or science. Please have a staff person who is knowledgeable about instruction on health topics complete the questionnaire. If that person is not sure of an answer, he or she should consult with other people at your school. In addition, he or she should complete the questionnaire even if most of the responses are "no"—this is important information for our agency to know.

5. I am new to this school and do not know what happened for most of the school year. How should I respond to the questionnaire?

You should still complete the questionnaire. Find someone at the school who can assist you in filling it out. This should be an individual who has been at the school for multiple school years.

6. We do not have grades 6-12 in our school. Do I still need to complete the questionnaire?

No. You should not complete the questionnaire. To help us with our record keeping, please return it with a note saying that none of these grades are taught at this school. We will mark your school as ineligible for the survey.

7. If a question does not apply to our school, should I leave that question blank or answer no?

If the question has “not applicable” as a possible response option, please answer using this option if the question does not apply to your school. For example, some questions ask about grades 6, 7, and 8, so if your school does not contain any of those grades, you would mark “not applicable.” However, if there is no “not applicable” response option and you think the question does not apply to your school, just leave that question blank.

8. I have already completed this questionnaire. Why are you asking me to do it again?

Thank you so much for completing the questionnaire. Please email us at YRBSS@dshs.texas.gov to let us know you completed the questionnaire and confirm we received it.