School Districts Shall Develop Local Wellness Policies

On June 30, 2004, President Bush signed Public Law 108- 265, the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. Each local educational agency participating in a program authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 shall establish a school wellness policy by the beginning of the 2006 school year.

Many state agencies and school districts already have recognized the need to assist their students by encouraging healthy eating and physical activity. Wellness policies combine education with practice to create healthful school environments and encourage healthy behavior.

Components of a Wellness Policy Any good wellness policy should include:

• Goals for nutrition education, physical activity and other school-based activities that are designed to promote student wellness;
• Nutrition guidelines selected by the district for all foods available on each school campus during the school day with the objectives of promoting student health and reducing childhood obesity;
• Guidelines for reimbursable school meals;
• A plan for measuring implementation of the local wellness policy;
• Community involvement in the development of the policy, which could include parents, students, school nutrition directors, school board members, school administrators and the general public.

AASA is providing guidance to school system leaders on the wellness policy requirements through a superintendent-inresidence who is a resource for developing guidelines and will respond to information requests about this issue. Gayden Carruth, a former superintendent in the Park Hill School District in Kansas City, Mo., will serve as AASA superintendent- in-residence through August 2006. For information about wellness policy development, contact her at gcarruth@aasa.org or Lewis Finch at lfinch@mchsi.com.