Yes, the percentage of children and adolescents in the United States with chronic health conditions has increased from 1.8% in the 1960s to more than 25% since 2007.

Source: Van Cleave J, Gortmaker SL, Perrin JM. Dynamics of obesity and chronic health conditions among children and youth. JAMA. 2010 Feb 17; 303(7):623-30.

According to data from the School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) 2016:

• 33.7% of districts require each school to have a full-time school nurse.
• 22.5% of districts have at least one school-based health center (SBHC) that offers both primary care and counseling, psychological, or social services to students.
• 16.2% of districts have adopted a policy stating that each elementary school will have a specified ratio of counselors to students, 16.8% of districts have adopted such a policy for middle schools, and 19.8% have adopted such a policy for high school.

Source: Data from the 2016 School Health Policies and Practices Study [SHPPS]

Ideally, the ratio should be one nurse for every 750 healthy children.

For every dollar invested in school health services delivered by full-time registered nurses, society gains $2.20 in savings from medical costs and lost productivity associated with caring for children with chronic health conditions.

Source: School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS) 2014 data