Senate Bill sb2370
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2370
By Senator Wilson
33-664A-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to school wellness and physical
3 education policies; amending s. 1003.453, F.S.;
4 revising each school district's requirement for
5 reviewing its wellness and physical education
6 policies; providing specific guidelines for a
7 school district's wellness and physical
8 education policies with regard to nutrition
9 education, physical activity, school-based
10 activities, and nutritional guidelines for food
11 and beverages sold or served on campus;
12 requiring the Department of Education to
13 designate the superintendent of each school
14 district as responsible for implementing and
15 administering the wellness and physical
16 education policies of the school district;
17 prohibiting guidelines for reimbursable school
18 meals from being less restrictive than certain
19 federal regulations and guidelines; requiring
20 the superintendent to report on the school
21 district's compliance to the department;
22 providing an effective date.
23
24 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that good nutrition
25 and regular physical activity affect the health and well-being
26 of students who attend public school in this state, and
27 WHEREAS, research suggests that there is a positive
28 correlation between a student's health and well-being and his
29 or her ability to learn, and
30 WHEREAS, schools can play an important role in the
31 developmental process by which students establish their health
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2370
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1 and nutrition habits by providing nutritious meals and snacks
2 through the schools' meal programs, by supporting the
3 development of good eating habits, and by promoting increased
4 physical activity both in and out of school, and
5 WHEREAS, the Legislature finds this effort to support
6 the students' development of healthy behaviors and habits with
7 regard to eating and exercise cannot be accomplished by public
8 schools alone, and
9 WHEREAS, it is necessary for not only the staff, but
10 also parents and the public at large to be involved in a
11 community-wide effort to promote, support, and model such
12 healthy behaviors and habits, NOW, THEREFORE,
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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16 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 1003.453, Florida
17 Statutes, is amended, and subsections (5), (6), (7), (8), and
18 (9) are added to that section, to read:
19 1003.453 School wellness and physical education
20 policies; nutrition guidelines.--
21 (1) By September 1, 2006, each school district shall
22 submit to the Department of Education a copy of its school
23 wellness policy as required by the Child Nutrition and WIC
24 Reauthorization Act of 2004 and a copy of its physical
25 education policy required under s. 1003.455. Each school
26 district shall annually review its school wellness policy and
27 physical education policy and provide a procedure for public
28 input and revisions. In addition, each school district shall
29 send an updated copy of its wellness policy and physical
30 education policy to the department when a change or revision
31 is made.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2370
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1 (5) Each school district shall set the following
2 wellness policy and physical education policy in an effort to
3 enable students to establish good health and nutrition habits:
4 (a) With regard to nutrition education, each school
5 district shall:
6 1. Include nutrition education in the health
7 curriculum which is enjoyable and has activities that are
8 developmentally appropriate and integrated throughout the
9 year. Instruction shall be sequential and standard-based and
10 shall provide students with the knowledge, attitudes, and
11 skills necessary to lead healthy lives.
12 2. Extend nutrition education beyond the classroom by
13 engaging and involving the school's food service staff and by
14 using the school cafeteria as a "learning lab" that allows
15 students to apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills taught
16 in the classroom when making choices at mealtime.
17 3. Extend nutrition education beyond the school by
18 engaging and involving the students' families and the
19 community.
20 4. Promote standards and benchmarks for nutrition
21 education through a variety of media.
22 5. Inform all staff of and provide appropriate
23 training to selected staff in the best practices of nutrition
24 education.
25 (b) With regard to physical activity, each school
26 district shall:
27 1. Provide a physical education curriculum that is
28 aligned with the state standards and the standards of the
29 National Association for Sport and Physical Education,
30 inclusive, and that is sequentially planned in order to teach
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2370
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1 the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to live an
2 active, healthy life.
3 2. Provide 150 minutes of physical education per week
4 for kindergarten through grade 5 and 225 minutes each week for
5 grades 6 through 8.
6 3. Have mandatory recess for 15 to 30 minutes which
7 consists of physical activity on the days students do not have
8 physical education class for elementary schools.
9 4. Offer opportunities for extracurricular activities
10 and intramural programs that emphasize physical activities for
11 students in grades 6 through 12.
12 5. Provide a curriculum that includes moderate to
13 vigorous daily physical activity in kindergarten through grade
14 12 beyond the school day.
15 6. Provide families with information to encourage and
16 assist them in their efforts to incorporate physical activity
17 into their children's daily lives.
18 7. Encourage the establishment of community and
19 business partnerships that institute programs supporting
20 physical activity programs.
21 (c) With regard to other school-based activities, each
22 school district shall:
23 1. Assist each school in establishing a wellness
24 committee to help coordinate physical activity, nutrition, and
25 other aspects of student and staff wellness. The wellness
26 committee may include parents, students, teachers, the school
27 nurse, physical education teachers, health teachers, career
28 service representatives, or members of the school
29 administration.
30 2. Provide resources for staff to improve their own
31 personal health and wellness on site and provide incentives,
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2370
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1 including, but not limited to, a decrease in insurance
2 premiums, bonuses, and teacher recognitions to enable staff to
3 be good role models for the students in promoting student
4 wellness.
5 3. Communicate to the parents students' information
6 concerning nutrition education, the benefits of physical
7 activity, and specific information on their children's health,
8 including body mass index (BMI).
9 4. Assist schools in offering healthy options for food
10 or beverages at fundraising activities, at school-sponsored
11 events, and during field trips.
12 5. Mandate that schools use food or beverages that
13 meet the recommended nutrition standards for purposes of
14 snacks, celebrations, and rewards and to look for alternative
15 methods for classroom make-up time and discipline other than
16 those that deny students the opportunity to participate in
17 recess or other physical activities.
18 6. Assist schools in providing at least 15 minutes for
19 breakfast and at least 20 minutes for lunch from the time the
20 students receive their food.
21 (d) With regard to nutrition guidelines for all foods
22 available on campus during the school day, the school district
23 shall:
24 1. Provide to all students affordable access to the
25 varied and nutritious foods that they need in order to be
26 healthy and to learn well through each school's food service
27 department.
28 2. Require that food and beverages sold or served to
29 students meet the nutritional recommendation of the current
30 Dietary Guidelines for Americans published by the United
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2370
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1 States Department of Agriculture and the Coalition for Healthy
2 Kids.
3 3. Require that all foods available to students be
4 served with consideration for promoting student health and
5 well-being.
6 4. Require that the food service department prepare
7 and distribute to staff, parents, and after-school program
8 personnel a list of snack items that comply with the current
9 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
10 (e) All foods and beverages served or sold in each
11 school district must meet the following specific guidelines
12 that must be applied campus-wide:
13 1. Beverages:
14 a. Must be single-serving size, excluding milk and
15 water.
16 b. May not be diet soda.
17 c. May not contain caffeine.
18 d. Must be listed in the school beverage guidelines
19 provided by the American Beverage Association, excluding
20 flavored milk, pending availability.
21 2. Foods in snack machines must:
22 a. Be limited to 250 calories per serving.
23 b. Have a limited amount of fat, 35 percent of the
24 total calories, excluding nuts and seeds.
25 c. Contain no more than 10 percent of the total
26 calories from saturated fats.
27 d. Have no more than 35 percent of the snack food's
28 weight derived from sugars, excluding fruits and vegetables.
29 e. Contain no more than 250 mg in sodium per serving.
30 f. Not contain any trans fats.
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1 3. Each school shall eliminate frying equipment from
2 its kitchen.
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4 Parents and boosters are encouraged to follow these
5 guidelines.
6 (6) The department shall designate the superintendent
7 of each school district as the individual charged with
8 operational responsibility for measuring and evaluating the
9 school district's implementation and progress under these
10 policies. The superintendent shall develop administrative
11 procedures necessary to implement and administer these
12 policies.
13 (7) Guidelines for reimbursable school meals may not
14 be less restrictive than regulations and guidelines issued by
15 the United States Department of Agriculture.
16 (8) The superintendent of each school district shall
17 report on the school district's compliance with these policies
18 and the progress toward achieving the goals set forth in these
19 policies when requested to do so by the department.
20 (9) A review of each school district's wellness policy
21 and physical education policy shall be conducted each year by
22 a district wellness committee appointed by the superintendent
23 which consists of one or more representatives from the school
24 board, the administration, the food service department, the
25 parents, the students, and the public. The committee shall
26 provide the superintendent with any recommended changes to
27 these policies.
28 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2370
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2 SENATE SUMMARY
3 Revises school district's requirement for the review of
its wellness and physical education policies. Provides
4 specific guidelines for a school district's wellness and
physical education policies with regard to nutrition
5 education, physical activity, school-based activities,
and nutritional guidelines for food and beverages sold or
6 served on campus. Requires the Department of Education to
designate the superintendent of each school district as
7 responsible for implementing the wellness and physical
education policies in the school district. Prohibits
8 guidelines for reimbursable school meals from being less
restrictive than certain federal regulations and
9 guidelines. Requires the superintendent to report on the
school district's compliance to the department.
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