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 |
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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 |
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83 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
84 |
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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. |