AN ACT CONCERNING TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL WIRING FOR TECHNOLOGY AND HEALTHY FOOD AND BEVERAGES IN SCHOOLS.

AN ACT CONCERNING TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL WIRING FOR TECHNOLOGY AND HEALTHY FOOD AND BEVERAGES IN SCHOOLS.

The bill (1) restricts the types of beverages that may be sold to students in school; (2) requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to set nutritional standards for food sold to students in schools; and (3) provides a financial incentive for local and regional school boards, charter school, endowed academy, and interdistrict magnet school governing authorities, and the regional vocational-technical school system (V-T system) to certify that their schools meet the SDE standards. It eliminates the existing requirement that school boards provide nutritious and low-fat drink options and extends the requirement that boards provide nutritious and low-fat food options to include the governing authorities of state charter schools, interdistrict magnet schools, and endowed academies.

*Senate Amendment “A” eliminates a provision reserving part of the bond funds authorized for school wiring projects for regional vocational-technical schools. It also expands the exemptions to the food and beverage provisions to apply to non-school sponsored events and applies the school lunch reimbursement bonus provisions to the regional vocational-technical schools.

The bill allows only the following beverages to be sold to students from any source, including school stores, vending machines, school cafeterias, and any fund-raising activities on school premises, whether or not school-sponsored:

1. milk, which may be flavored but contain no artificial sweeteners and no more than 4 grams of sugar per ounce;

2. nondairy milks, which may be flavored but contain no artificial sweeteners, no more than 4 grams of sugar per ounce, no more than 35% of calories from fat per serving, and no more than 10% of calories from saturated fat per serving;

3. 100% fruit or vegetable juice or combination of such juices, containing no added sugars, sweeteners, or artificial sweeteners;

4. beverages that contain only water and fruit or vegetable juice and have no added sugars, sweeteners, or artificial sweeteners; and

5. water, which may be flavored but must contain no added sugars, sweeteners, artificial sweeteners, or caffeine.

Portion sizes of beverages, other than water, offered for sale cannot exceed 12 ounces.

The bill allows schools to sell other beverages if (1) the sale is in connection with an event occurring after the end of the regular school day or on the weekend, (2) the sale is at the event location, and (3) the beverages are not sold from a vending machine or school store.

The bill requires SDE to publish, by August 1, 2006, and every January 1, thereafter, nutrition standards for food items offered for sale to students at schools. Schools are not required to meet the standards. However, the bill requires the V-T system, boards of education, and governing authorities whose schools participate in the National School Lunch Program to certify in their annual application for funding whether the non-exempted food items they serve for that year will meet the standards.

Foods served as part of the National School Lunch or School Breakfast programs are exempted from the SDE standards unless the items are purchased separately. Additionally, as with beverages, the bill allows school boards and governing authorities to exclude from certification the sale to students of food items that do not meet the standards, if (1) the sale is in connection with an event occurring after the end of the regular school day or on the weekend, (2) the sale is at the event location, and (3) the food is not sold from a vending machine or school store. Otherwise, the certification must include food offered to sale to students at all times and from all sources.

For each lunch served in the prior year in districts or schools that meet the nutritional standards, the bill provides 10 cents in addition to the state match of federal dollars required under the National School Lunch Program. The law allows nonpublic schools to participate in the school lunch program. However, the bill makes these schools, except for endowed academies, ineligible for the 10-cent bonus.

The education commissioner must establish compliance monitoring procedures and may adjust grant amounts for failure to comply with certification.

The bill requires governing authorities for state charter schools, interdistrict magnet schools, and endowed academies to make available for purchase by students nutritious and low-fat foods, including low-fat dairy products and fresh or dried fruits, at all times when food is available to students for purchase during the regular school day. Current law applies specifically only to local and regional boards of education. However, charter schools and interdistrict magnet schools are already subject to the law because the education statutes automatically apply to such schools.

The bill also eliminates the requirement that local and regional boards make available nutritious and low-fat drinks, including low-fat milk, 100% fruit juice, and water, whenever drinks are available for purchase in schools.

Yea

Nay

(03/10/2006)

Yea

Nay

(04/03/2006)

Yea

Nay

(04/18/2006)