As required by law, the School Board establishes the following wellness policy.
The Board recognizes that good nutrition and regular physical activity affect the health and well-being of the District's students. Furthermore, research suggests that there is a positive correlation between a student's health and well-being and his/her ability to learn. Moreover, schools can plan an important role in the developmental process by which students establish their health and nutrition habits by providing nutritious meals and snacks through the schools' meal programs, by supporting the development of good eating habits, and by promoting increased physical activity both in and out of school.
The Board, however, believes this effort to support the students' development of healthy behaviors and habits with regard to eating and exercise cannot be accomplished by the schools alone. It will be necessary for not only the staff, but also parents and the public at large to be involved in a community-wide effort to promote, support, and model such healthy behaviors and habits.
The Board sets the following goals in an effort to enable students to establish good health and nutrition habits:
| | A. | With regard to nutrition education, the District shall:
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| | | 1. | include nutrition education in the health curriculum so that instruction is sequential and standards-based and provides students with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to lead healthy lives;
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| | | 2. | include nutrition education in enjoyable and developmentally appropriate activities integrated throughout the school year;
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| | | 3. | extend nutrition education beyond the classroom by engaging and involving the school's food service staff and by using the school cafeteria as a "learning lab" allowing students to apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills taught in the classroom when making choices at mealtime;
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| | | 4. | extend nutrition education beyond the school by engaging and involving families and the community;
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| | | 5. | promote nutrition education standards and benchmarks through a variety of media;
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| | | 6. | inform all staff and provide appropriate training to selected staff in the best practices of nutrition education.
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| | B. | With regard to physical activity, the District shall:
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| | | 1. | provide a physical education curriculum that is aligned with the State and National standards (NASPE), inclusive, and sequentially planned in order to teach the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to live an active, healthy life; the term "physical education" is defined in Florida Statutes;
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| | | 2. | provide 150 minutes of physical education per week for kindergarten through grade 5 and encourage 225 minutes each week for grades 6 through 8;
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| | | 3. | provide physical activity in elementary schools for fifteen (15) - thirty (30) minutes on the days when physical education is not scheduled;
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| | | 4. | offer opportunities in grades 6 - 12 for extra-curricular activities and intramural programs that emphasize physical activities;
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| | | 5. | encourage moderate to vigorous daily physical activity in grades K-12 beyond the school day;
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| | | 6. | provide families with information to encourage and assist them in their efforts to incorporate physical activity into their children's daily lives;
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| | | 7. | encourage the establishment of community and business partnerships to institute programs that support physical activity programs.
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| | C. | With regard to other school-based activities, the District shall:
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| | | 1. | establish a Wellness Committee, at each school, that would help coordinate physical activity, nutrition, and other aspects of student/staff wellness with suggested members to include:
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| | | | a. | parents;
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| | | | b. | students;
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| | | | c. | teachers;
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| | | | d. | nurse;
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| | | | e. | physical education/health teachers;
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| | | | f. | career service representative;
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| | | | g. | food service representatives; and
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| | | | h. | administration;
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| | | 2. | encourage staff to improve their own personal health and wellness and to help them to promote student wellness;
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| | | 3. | communicate information to parents on nutrition education, the benefits of physical activity, and specific information on children's health including Body Mass Index (BMI);
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| | | 4. | offer healthy options for food or beverages at school fund raisers, school sponsored events, and field trips;
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| | | 5. | encourage students to use food or beverages that meet the recommended nutrition standards for snacks, celebrations, and rewards;
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| | | 6. | encourage schools to look for alternatives to discipline practices that deny student participation in recess or other physical activities or for classroom make-up time;
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| | | 7. | provide and encourage daily periods of moderate to vigorous physical activity for all participants in the after-school enrichment program;
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| | | 8. | achieve the school goal of at least ten (10) minutes for breakfast and at least twenty (20) minutes for lunch from the time the students receive their food.
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| | D. | With regard to nutrition guidelines for all foods available on campus during the school day, the District shall:
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| | | 1. | provide through the food service program an affordable access for all students to the varied and nutritious foods they need to be healthy and to learn well;
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| | | 2. | sell or serve food and beverages to students that will meet the nutritional recommendation of the current United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Dietary Guidelines for Americans;
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| | | 3. | serve to students all available foods that take into consideration the promotion of student health and well-being;
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| | | 4. | prepare and distribute through the food service division to staff, parents, and after-school program personnel a list of snack items that comply with the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans;
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| | | 5. | Specific guidelines for foods and beverages for all students shall include the following:
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| | | | a. | Beverages shall follow American Beverage Association (ABA) guidelines, excluding flavored milk pending availability.
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| | | | b. | Snacks and a la carte items shall follow the USDA Guidelines for Americans.
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The Board designates the Superintendent as the individual charged with operational responsibility for measuring and evaluating the District's implementation and progress under this policy. The Superintendent shall develop administrative procedures necessary to implement this policy.
Guidelines for reimbursable school meals shall not be less restrictive than regulations and guidance issued by the USDA.
The Superintendent will report to the Board the effectiveness of the wellness policy and the recommended revisions if necessary and the progress toward achieving the goals set forth herein when requested to do so by the Board.
Review of this policy shall occur every year, by a District Wellness Committee appointed by the Superintendent, consisting of a representative(s) of the Board, the administration, the food service department, the parents, the students, and the public. The Committee shall provide the Superintendent with any recommended changes to this policy.
42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.
42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.
F.S. 1001.41, 1001.42, 1001.43, 1006.06, 1006.0605, 1006.0606
F.A.C. 6A-7.0411