Standards for School-Based Health Centers in the Maryland School-Based Health Center Program

This document, published by the Maryland Department of Health in January 2025, sets out the minimum standards that school-based health centers (SBHCs) must meet to participate in Maryland’s state SBHC program. It covers the governance structure of SBHCs — including the distinction between Administrative Sponsoring Organizations and Clinical Sponsoring Organizations — as well as requirements for service delivery, staffing, enrollment and parental consent, care coordination with primary care providers, behavioral health integration, fiscal operations, and continuous quality improvement. The document also enumerates required core services (primary and preventive care, laboratory testing, behavioral health referrals) and optional expanded services such as oral health, reproductive health, health education, and social services navigation.

For school facility personnel, the document’s most directly relevant section is Appendix B, which outlines physical facility requirements of SBHCs. This section includes a chart that describes required and recommended features. It also includes a chart that spells out the the square footage requirements of various functional spaces, such as waiting rooms, exam rooms, toilet rooms, offices and records storage areas.