§1758b Local School Wellness Policy

Summary

School districts that take part in federal child nutrition programs must create a wellness policy for every school they run. The policy must set goals for healthy eating, physical activity, and other school wellness actions. It must include nutrition rules for all foods available during the school day that follow federal nutrition standards and help lower childhood obesity. Districts must let parents, students, food service staff, PE teachers, health staff, school leaders, and the public help write, review, and update the policy. Districts must share information with the public about the policy and report regularly on how well schools follow it, how the policy compares to model policies, and progress toward the goals. Districts must name one or more officials to make sure schools follow the policy. The federal government must issue rules to guide districts and give technical help. That help, developed with the Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, should include training, sample policies, best practices, and other tools that fit local needs. If funds are available, the government and CDC must study how well these local policies work, compare them to model policies, and report the results to Congress by January 1, 2014. Congress authorized $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2011 for this work, to remain available until spent.