HB 679

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to health-related education in the public
3	schools; creating s. 1003.453, F.S.; requiring each school
4	district to submit to the Department of Education, by a
5	specified deadline, copies of the district's school
6	wellness policy and physical education policy; requiring
7	the school district to review those policies annually;
8	requiring the department and the school districts to post
9	those policies on their websites; requiring the department
10	to provide a model school wellness policy and nutrition
11	guidelines and prescribing minimum contents thereof;
12	amending s. 1003.455, F.S.; requiring school district
13	physical education programs and lesson plans to be
14	approved; encouraging school districts to provide physical
15	education for a specified amount of time; deleting
16	obsolete language; amending s. 381.0056, F.S., the "School
17	Health Services Act"; requiring schools to provide certain
18	information to students' parents or guardians; providing
19	requirements relating to the membership of school health
20	advisory committees; encouraging the committees to address
21	specified matters; providing an effective date.
22
23	WHEREAS, Governor Jeb Bush convened the Governor's Task
24	Force on the Obesity Epidemic in fall 2003, and
25	WHEREAS, the Governor's Task Force on the Obesity Epidemic
26	recommended that families and other caregivers coordinate with
27	schools, community organizations, and policymakers to support
28	and sustain healthy lifestyles among youth, and
29	WHEREAS, the Governor's task force recommended that every
30	school district be required to maintain independent nutrition,
31	physical activity, and physical fitness advisory panels, which
32	would be charged with meeting at least annually to review and
33	determine strong school district policies with respect to all
34	nutritional, physical activity, and physical fitness offerings
35	at schools and to report on compliance to the Department of
36	Education and district school boards, and
37	WHEREAS, the Secretary of Health hosted obesity summits in
38	2004-2005, including one on Solutions in the School Setting, and
39	WHEREAS, the Governor's task force and the obesity summits
40	showed that schools are logical partners in preventing and
41	reducing childhood obesity, and
42	WHEREAS, the majority of our children are enrolled in
43	school, and
44	WHEREAS, school health programs can improve knowledge,
45	attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes, and
46	WHEREAS, the percentage of children and adolescents in the
47	United States who are overweight has tripled to 15 percent
48	during the last 30 years, and
49	WHEREAS, 25 percent of children ages 5 to 10 have high
50	cholesterol, high blood pressure, or other early warning signs
51	of heart disease, and
52	WHEREAS, newly completed research shows a significant
53	relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness
54	and healthful nutrition, and
55	WHEREAS, the majority of food and beverage choices at
56	schools are high-fat, high-sodium snacks and high-fat, high-
57	sugar baked goods, and
58	WHEREAS, approximately one-third of high school students
59	are not getting enough physical activity, and
60	WHEREAS, many of the youth ages 9-12 have no physical
61	activity outside of the school day, and
62	WHEREAS, healthy eating and physical activity lead to
63	improved academics, improved behavior, improved short-term and
64	long-term health, and reduced health care costs, and
65	WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
66	(CDC) recommends that schools offer nutritious food and
67	beverages in all venues, and
68	WHEREAS, the CDC encourages schools to adopt comprehensive
69	nutrition and physical activity policies, and
70	WHEREAS, the CDC says that standards for physical education
71	and activity should be set to promote healthy lifestyles and
72	healthy behaviors, and
73	WHEREAS, schools should inform parents and the community of
74	activities which promote healthy eating and physical activity,
75	and
76	WHEREAS, parents should be solicited for involvement in
77	promoting healthy eating and physically active living, and
78	WHEREAS, promoting healthy lifestyles at the elementary,
79	middle, and high school levels will reduce the rate of childhood
80	obesity, improve patient outcomes, and save lives, NOW,
81	THEREFORE,
82
83	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
84
85	Section 1.  Section 1003.453, Florida Statutes, is created
86	to read:
87	1003.453  School wellness and physical education policies;
88	nutrition guidelines.--
89	(1)  By September 1, 2006, each school district shall
90	submit to the Department of Education a copy of its school
91	wellness policy as required by the Child Nutrition and WIC
92	Reauthorization Act of 2004 and a copy of its physical education
93	policy required under s. 1003.455. Each school district shall
94	annually review its school wellness policy and physical
95	education policy and provide a procedure for public input and
96	revisions. In addition, each school district shall send an
97	updated copy of its wellness policy and physical education
98	policy to the department when a change or revision is made.
99	(2)  By December 1, 2006, the department shall post each
100	school district's school wellness policy and physical education
101	policy on its website so that the policies can be accessed and
102	reviewed by the public. Each school district shall provide the
103	most current versions of its school wellness policy and physical
104	education policy on the district's website.
105	(3)  The department must provide on its website a model
106	school wellness policy that may be accessed and reviewed by
107	school districts and the public. The model school wellness
108	policy must at a minimum:
109	(a)  Require that all students receive classroom
110	instruction on the benefits of exercise and healthful eating.
111	(b)  Require that all students receive classroom
112	instruction on the health hazards of using tobacco and being
113	exposed to tobacco smoke.
114	(c)  Address at least four of the eight components of a
115	coordinated school health program, including health education,
116	physical education, health services, and nutrition services.
117	(d)  Establish core measures for school health and
118	wellness, such as the School Health Index.
119	(e)  Require that, starting in grade 6, all students
120	receive basic training in first aid, including cardiopulmonary
121	resuscitation, at least every 2 years.
122	(4)  By December 1, 2006, the department must provide
123	nutrition guidelines for school districts in a rubric format
124	which must at a minimum:
125	(a)  Provide nutrition guidelines for all food and
126	beverages sold on campus throughout the school day through
127	vending machines, as a la carte items, through fund raisers, or
128	through other means.
129	(b)  Ensure that each student has access to healthful food
130	choices in accordance with dietary guidelines of the United
131	States Department of Agriculture.
132	(c)  Ensure that each student and his or her parents have
133	access to information concerning the nutritional content of food
134	and beverages sold by or available from the school's food
135	service department at breakfast, at lunch, and after school.
136	(d)  Direct the school nutrition department to support
137	staff wellness classes that provide nutrition education for
138	teachers and school support staff. Schools are encouraged to
139	provide classes that are taught by a licensed nutrition
140	professional from the school nutrition department.
141	Section 2.  Section 1003.455, Florida Statutes, is amended
142	to read:
143	1003.455  Physical education; assessment.--
144	(1)  It is the responsibility of each district school board
145	to develop a physical education program that stresses physical
146	fitness and encourages healthy, active lifestyles and to
147	encourage all students in prekindergarten through grade 12 to
148	participate in physical education. Physical education shall
149	consist of physical activities of at least a moderate intensity
150	level and for a duration sufficient to provide a significant
151	health benefit to students, subject to the differing
152	capabilities of students. All physical education programs and
153	related lesson plans must be reviewed and approved by a
154	certified physical education instructor.
155	(2)  Each district school board shall, no later than
156	December 1, 2004, adopt a written physical education policy that
157	details the school district's physical education program and
158	expected program outcomes. Each district school board shall
159	provide a copy of its written policy to the Department of
160	Education by December 15, 2004.
161	(3)  Each district school board is encouraged to provide
162	150 minutes of physical education each week for students in
163	kindergarten through grade 5 and 225 minutes each week for
164	students in grades 6 through 8. Any district that does not adopt
165	a physical education policy by December 1, 2004, shall, at a
166	minimum, implement a mandatory physical education program for
167	kindergarten through grade 5 which provides students with 30
168	minutes of physical education each day, 3 days a week.
169	Section 3.  Subsections (2) and (5) of section 381.0056,
170	Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
171	381.0056  School health services program.--
172	(2)  The Legislature finds that health services conducted
173	as a part of the total school health program should be carried
174	out to appraise, protect, and promote the health of students.
175	School health services supplement, rather than replace, parental
176	responsibility and are designed to encourage parents to devote
177	attention to child health, to discover health problems, and to
178	encourage use of the services of their physicians, dentists, and
179	community health agencies. Each school shall annually provide to
180	the parents or guardians of each of its students information on
181	ways that they can help their children to be physically active
182	and to eat healthful foods.
183	(5)(a)  Each county health department shall develop,
184	jointly with the district school board and the local school
185	health advisory committee, a school health services plan; and
186	the plan must shall include, at a minimum, provisions for:
187	1.(a)  Health appraisal;
188	2.(b)  Records review;
189	3.(c)  Nurse assessment;
190	4.(d)  Nutrition assessment;
191	5.(e)  A preventive dental program;
192	6.(f)  Vision screening;
193	7.(g)  Hearing screening;
194	8.(h)  Scoliosis screening;
195	9.(i)  Growth and development screening;
196	10.(j)  Health counseling;
197	11.(k)  Referral and followup of suspected or confirmed
198	health problems by the local county health department;
199	12.(l)  Meeting emergency health needs in each school;
200	13.(m)  County health department personnel to assist school
201	personnel in health education curriculum development;
202	14.(n)  Referral of students to appropriate health
203	treatment, in cooperation with the private health community
204	whenever possible;
205	15.(o)  Consultation with a student's parent or guardian
206	regarding the need for health attention by the family physician,
207	dentist, or other specialist when definitive diagnosis or
208	treatment is indicated;
209	16.(p)  Maintenance of records on incidents of health
210	problems, corrective measures taken, and such other information
211	as may be needed to plan and evaluate health programs; except,
212	however, that provisions in the plan for maintenance of health
213	records of individual students must be in accordance with s.
214	1002.22;
215	17.(q)  Health information which will be provided by the
216	school health nurses, when necessary, regarding the placement of
217	students in exceptional student programs and the reevaluation at
218	periodic intervals of students placed in such programs; and
219	18.(r)  Notification to the local nonpublic schools of the
220	school health services program and the opportunity for
221	representatives of the local nonpublic schools to participate in
222	the development of the cooperative health services plan.
223	(b)  Each school health advisory committee must, at a
224	minimum, include members who represent the eight component areas
225	of the coordinated school health model as defined by the Centers
226	for Disease Control and Prevention. School health advisory
227	committees are encouraged to address the eight components of the
228	coordinated school health model in the school district's school
229	wellness policy pursuant to s. 1003.453.
230	Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.