Senate Bill sb2602

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2602

    By Senator Constantine





    22-500B-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to health-related education in

  3         the public schools; creating s. 1003.453, F.S.;

  4         requiring each school district to submit to the

  5         Department of Education, by a specified

  6         deadline, copies of the district's school

  7         wellness policy and physical education policy;

  8         requiring the school district to review those

  9         policies annually; requiring the department and

10         the school districts to post links to those

11         policies on their websites; requiring the

12         department to provide Internet links to

13         resources for school districts and the public

14         and prescribing the types of information that

15         those resources must provide; encouraging

16         school districts to provide training in first

17         aid; amending s. 1003.455, F.S.; requiring that

18         school district physical education programs and

19         curricula be developed with the involvement of

20         and review by a certified physical education

21         instructor; encouraging school districts to

22         provide physical education for a specified

23         amount of time; deleting obsolete language;

24         amending s. 381.0056, F.S., the "School Health

25         Services Act"; requiring schools to provide

26         certain information to students' parents or

27         guardians; providing requirements relating to

28         the membership of school health advisory

29         committees; encouraging the committees to

30         address specified matters; providing an

31         effective date.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2602
    22-500B-06




 1  

 2         WHEREAS, Governor Jeb Bush convened the Governor's Task

 3  Force on the Obesity Epidemic in fall 2003, and

 4         WHEREAS, the Governor's Task Force on the Obesity

 5  Epidemic recommended that families and other caregivers

 6  coordinate with schools, community organizations, and

 7  policymakers to support and sustain healthy lifestyles among

 8  youth, and

 9         WHEREAS, the Governor's task force recommended that

10  every school district be required to maintain independent

11  nutrition, physical activity, and physical fitness advisory

12  panels, which would be charged with meeting at least annually

13  to review and determine strong school district policies with

14  respect to all nutritional, physical activity, and physical

15  fitness offerings at schools and to report on compliance to

16  the Department of Education and district school boards, and

17         WHEREAS, the Secretary of Health hosted obesity summits

18  in 2004-2005, including one on Solutions in the School

19  Setting, and

20         WHEREAS, the Governor's task force and the obesity

21  summits showed that schools are logical partners in preventing

22  and reducing childhood obesity, and

23         WHEREAS, the majority of our children are enrolled in

24  school, and

25         WHEREAS, school health programs can improve knowledge,

26  attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes, and

27         WHEREAS, 25 percent of children ages 5 to 10 have high

28  cholesterol, high blood pressure, or other early warning signs

29  of heart disease, and

30  

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2602
    22-500B-06




 1         WHEREAS, newly completed research shows a significant

 2  relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness

 3  and healthful nutrition, and

 4         WHEREAS, the majority of food and beverage choices at

 5  schools are high-fat, high-sodium snacks and high-fat,

 6  high-sugar baked goods, and

 7         WHEREAS, approximately one-third of high school

 8  students are not getting enough physical activity, and

 9         WHEREAS, many of the youth ages 9-12 have no physical

10  activity outside of the school day, and

11         WHEREAS, healthful eating and physical activity lead to

12  improved academics, improved behavior, improved short-term and

13  long-term health, and reduced health care costs, and

14         WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

15  (CDC) recommends that schools offer nutritious food and

16  beverages in all venues, and

17         WHEREAS, the CDC encourages schools to adopt

18  comprehensive nutrition and physical activity policies, and

19         WHEREAS, the CDC says that standards for physical

20  education and activity should be set to promote healthful

21  lifestyles and healthful behaviors, and

22         WHEREAS, schools should inform parents and the

23  community of activities that promote healthful eating and

24  physical activity, and

25         WHEREAS, parents should be solicited for involvement in

26  promoting healthful eating and physically active living, and

27         WHEREAS, promoting healthful lifestyles at the

28  elementary, middle, and high school levels will reduce the

29  rate of childhood obesity, improve patient outcomes, and save

30  lives, NOW, THEREFORE,

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2602
    22-500B-06




 1  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

 2  

 3         Section 1.  Section 1003.453, Florida Statutes, is

 4  created to read:

 5         1003.453  School wellness and physical education

 6  policies; nutrition guidelines.--

 7         (1)  By September 1, 2006, each school district shall

 8  submit to the Department of Education a copy of its school

 9  wellness policy as required by the Child Nutrition and WIC

10  Reauthorization Act of 2004 and a copy of its physical

11  education policy required under s. 1003.455. Each school

12  district shall annually review its school wellness policy and

13  physical education policy and provide a procedure for public

14  input and revisions. In addition, each school district shall

15  send an updated copy of its wellness policy and physical

16  education policy to the department when a change or revision

17  is made.

18         (2)  By December 1, 2006, the department shall post

19  links to each school district's school wellness policy and

20  physical education policy on its website so that the policies

21  can be accessed and reviewed by the public. Each school

22  district shall provide the most current versions of its school

23  wellness policy and physical education policy on the

24  district's website.

25         (3)  The department must provide on its website links

26  to a wide array of resources that may be accessed and reviewed

27  by school districts and the public. The resources must include

28  information regarding:

29         (a)  Classroom instruction on the benefits of exercise

30  and healthful eating.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2602
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 1         (b)  Classroom instruction on the health hazards of

 2  using tobacco and being exposed to tobacco smoke.

 3         (c)  The eight components of a coordinated school

 4  health program, including health education, physical

 5  education, health services, and nutrition services.

 6         (d)  The core measures for school health and wellness,

 7  such as the School Health Index.

 8         (e)  The nutritional content of foods and beverages.

 9         (f)  Information to ensure that each student has access

10  to healthful food choices in accordance with the dietary

11  guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture.

12         (g)  Examples of wellness classes that provide

13  nutrition education for teachers and school support staff.

14  Schools are encouraged to provide classes that are taught by a

15  licensed nutrition professional from the school nutrition

16  department.

17         (4)  School districts are encouraged to provide basic

18  training in first aid, including cardiopulmonary

19  resuscitation, for all students, beginning in grade 6 and

20  every 2 years thereafter. Private and public partnerships for

21  providing training or necessary funding are encouraged.

22         Section 2.  Section 1003.455, Florida Statutes, is

23  amended to read:

24         1003.455  Physical education; assessment.--

25         (1)  It is the responsibility of each district school

26  board to develop a physical education program that stresses

27  physical fitness and encourages healthful healthy, active

28  lifestyles and to encourage all students in prekindergarten

29  through grade 12 to participate in physical education.

30  Physical education shall consist of physical activities of at

31  least a moderate intensity level and for a duration sufficient

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2602
    22-500B-06




 1  to provide a significant health benefit to students, subject

 2  to the differing capabilities of students. All physical

 3  education programs and curricula must be developed with the

 4  involvement of and review by a certified physical education

 5  instructor.

 6         (2)  Each district school board shall, no later than

 7  December 1, 2004, adopt a written physical education policy

 8  that details the school district's physical education program

 9  and expected program outcomes. Each district school board

10  shall provide a copy of its written policy to the Department

11  of Education by December 15, 2004.

12         (3)  Each district school board is encouraged to

13  provide 150 minutes of physical education each week for

14  students in kindergarten through grade 5 and 225 minutes each

15  week for students in grades 6 through 8. Any district that

16  does not adopt a physical education policy by December 1,

17  2004, shall, at a minimum, implement a mandatory physical

18  education program for kindergarten through grade 5 which

19  provides students with 30 minutes of physical education each

20  day, 3 days a week.

21         Section 3.  Subsections (2) and (5) of section

22  381.0056, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:

23         381.0056  School health services program.--

24         (2)  The Legislature finds that health services

25  conducted as a part of the total school health program should

26  be carried out to appraise, protect, and promote the health of

27  students. School health services supplement, rather than

28  replace, parental responsibility and are designed to encourage

29  parents to devote attention to child health, to discover

30  health problems, and to encourage use of the services of their

31  physicians, dentists, and community health agencies. Each

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2602
    22-500B-06




 1  school shall annually provide to the parents or guardians of

 2  each of its students information on ways that they can help

 3  their children to be physically active and to eat healthful

 4  foods.

 5         (5)(a)  Each county health department shall develop,

 6  jointly with the district school board and the local school

 7  health advisory committee, a school health services plan; and

 8  the plan must shall include, at a minimum, provisions for:

 9         1.(a)  Health appraisal;

10         2.(b)  Records review;

11         3.(c)  Nurse assessment;

12         4.(d)  Nutrition assessment;

13         5.(e)  A preventive dental program;

14         6.(f)  Vision screening;

15         7.(g)  Hearing screening;

16         8.(h)  Scoliosis screening;

17         9.(i)  Growth and development screening;

18         10.(j)  Health counseling;

19         11.(k)  Referral and followup of suspected or confirmed

20  health problems by the local county health department;

21         12.(l)  Meeting emergency health needs in each school;

22         13.(m)  County health department personnel to assist

23  school personnel in health education curriculum development;

24         14.(n)  Referral of students to appropriate health

25  treatment, in cooperation with the private health community

26  whenever possible;

27         15.(o)  Consultation with a student's parent or

28  guardian regarding the need for health attention by the family

29  physician, dentist, or other specialist when definitive

30  diagnosis or treatment is indicated;

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2602
    22-500B-06




 1         16.(p)  Maintenance of records on incidents of health

 2  problems, corrective measures taken, and such other

 3  information as may be needed to plan and evaluate health

 4  programs; except, however, that provisions in the plan for

 5  maintenance of health records of individual students must be

 6  in accordance with s. 1002.22;

 7         17.(q)  Health information which will be provided by

 8  the school health nurses, when necessary, regarding the

 9  placement of students in exceptional student programs and the

10  reevaluation at periodic intervals of students placed in such

11  programs; and

12         18.(r)  Notification to the local nonpublic schools of

13  the school health services program and the opportunity for

14  representatives of the local nonpublic schools to participate

15  in the development of the cooperative health services plan.

16         (b)  Each school health advisory committee must, at a

17  minimum, include members who represent the eight component

18  areas of the coordinated school health model as defined by the

19  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School health

20  advisory committees are encouraged to address the eight

21  components of the coordinated school health model in the

22  school district's school wellness policy pursuant to s.

23  1003.453.

24         Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2602
    22-500B-06




 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Relates to health-related education in the public
      schools. Requires each school district to submit to the
 4    Department of Education, by a specified deadline, copies
      of the district's school wellness policy and physical
 5    education policy. Requires the school district to review
      those policies annually. Requires the department and the
 6    school districts to post links to those policies on their
      websites. Requires the department to provide Internet
 7    links to resources for school districts and the public.
      Prescribes the types of information that those resources
 8    must provide. Encourages school districts to provide
      training in first aid. Requires school district physical
 9    education programs and curricula to be developed with the
      involvement of and review by a certified physical
10    education instructor. Encourages school districts to
      provide physical education for a specified amount of
11    time. Amends the "School Health Services Act." Requires
      schools to provide certain information to students'
12    parents or guardians. Provides requirements relating to
      the membership of school health advisory committees.
13    Encourages the committees to address specified matters.

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