HEALTHY SCHOOLS ACT TO IMPLEMENT NUTRITIONAL STANDARDS FOR SCHOOLS

Governor Eliot Spitzer and Lieutenant Governor David Paterson today announced legislation to establish nutritional standards for foods and beverages sold, served or offered in elementary and secondary schools. The Healthy Schools Act will for the first time require that nutrition be a crucial element of education in New York’s public and other state funded schools.

“In the State of New York, childhood obesity has reached crisis levels,” said Governor Spitzer. “New York's schools will take the first step in fundamentally influencing children's nutrition and serving as a model environment that supports positive academic performance and healthful behaviors.”

“This legislation is an important step in the fight against childhood obesity,” said Lieutenant Governor Paterson. “Because of the amount of time that our kids spend in school, promoting balanced nutrition, physical activity and overall healthy lifestyles during the school day is a clear sign that the State of New York is committed to improving children's health.”

The Healthy Schools Act will include the following provisions:

• While the State is limited in its ability to impose restrictions on school meals that are reimbursable by the federal government, this bill will provide that such meals must be trans-fat free and must meet limits on sodium and cholesterol.
• For entrees sold separately from the reimbursable school meals, the bill will set standards for fat, sugar and sodium.
• Aside from meals, during the school day, students will be allowed to purchase only fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or non-fat dairy items. After the school day ends, high school students can purchase additional snack items that meet particular limits for fat, sugar and sodium.
• The bill will limit the types of beverages that may be sold in schools to water, 100% fruit or vegetable juice, low-fat or non-fat regular or flavored milk. In addition, high schools may serve hot chocolate and decaffeinated coffee and tea during breakfast hours and may serve sugar-free, non-carbonated beverages after school hours. Soda will not be served, although sports drinks will be permitted for students engaging in after-school sports.

The bill will also improve the school environment in ways that encourage healthy eating behaviors and physical activity by:

• Requiring schools to provide students with a minimum of twenty minutes to eat breakfast and thirty minutes to eat lunch;
• Prohibiting the use of food or beverages as a reward or punishment;
• Requiring schools to provide students in eighth grade and under a recess period involving physical activity of up to 30 consecutive minutes on each day when there is no physical education class;
• Prohibiting schools from disciplining a student by taking away such recess period, and
Requiring schools to make available ideas for healthy fundraising and classroom celebrations.

Additionally, schools will be required to develop school wellness policies to improve student health and nutrition. Such policies are already mandatory for participants in the federal meal programs but compliance is not where it should be. The bill will strengthen compliance and will require the designation of persons to oversee the policy at each school. Policymakers will be required to consider adding nutrition education to school curricula and to consider improving compliance with physical education.

The bill would further stipulate that school districts establish a school breakfast program for middle schools and high schools if such districts already participate in a school lunch program, which is already the case for elementary schools. This would allow all students to receive a daily breakfast, which would be free or reduced in price for eligible students.