§ 20-7-135 - Nutrition and physical activity standards -- Implementation. - Arkansas Statutes

20-7-135. Nutrition and physical activity standards -- Implementation.

(a) After having consulted the Child Health Advisory Committee and the State Board of Health, the State Board of Education shall promulgate appropriate rules and regulations to ensure that nutrition and physical activity standards and body mass index for age assessment protocols are implemented to provide students with the skills, opportunities, and encouragement to adopt healthy lifestyles.

(b) The Department of Health in consultation with the Department of Education shall:

(1) Employ one (1) qualified community health promotion professional with training or experience, or both, in nutrition, chronic disease, or another related field to be housed within the division to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate pilot or model programs to support schools and communities if funds are available;

(2) Employ one (1) statewide health promotion consultant to be housed within the Department of Education if funds are available;

(3) Employ one (1) person as a community health promotion specialist to support implementation of pilot or model programs in schools and communities in nutrition and physical activity in several distinct geographical areas of the state if funds are available;

(4) Assign all community health nurses under its supervision to work with schools to assure that body mass index for age assessment protocols are followed by school employees or their designees who conduct body mass index for age assessments and other student health screenings; and

(5) Not use more than five percent (5%) of the annual Department of Health Master Settlement Agreement funds for the salaries or programs created under this subsection.

(c) Every school district shall:

(1) Prohibit for elementary school students in-school access to vending machines offering food and beverages;

(2) Require schools to include as part of the annual report to parents and the community the amounts and specific sources of funds received and expenditures made from competitive food and beverage contracts;

(3) Beginning with kindergarten and then in even-numbered grades, require schools to include as a part of a student health report to parents a body mass index percentile by age for each student; and

(4) (A) Permit any parent to refuse to have his or her child's body mass index percentile for age assessed and reported, by providing a written refusal to the school.

(B) Students in grades eleven through twelve (11-12) are exempt from any policy or requirement of a public school or the state for measuring or reporting body mass index.

(d) The Department of Education shall:

(1) Begin the implementation of standards developed by the committee and approved by the Department of Education; and

(2) Annually monitor and evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the nutrition and physical education standards.

(e) Every school district shall:

(1) Convene a school nutrition and physical activity advisory committee that shall include members from school district governing boards, school administrators, food service personnel, teacher organizations, parents, students, and professional groups such as nurses and community members to:

(A) Help raise awareness of the importance of nutrition and physical activity; and

(B) Assist in the development of local policies that address issues and goals, including, but not limited to, the following:

(i) Assisting with the implementation of nutrition and physical activity standards developed by the school nutrition and physical activity advisory committee with the approval of the Department of Education and the State Board of Health;

(ii) Integrating nutrition and physical activity into the overall curriculum;

(iii) Ensuring that professional development for staff includes nutrition and physical activity issues;

(iv) Ensuring that students receive nutrition education and engage in healthful levels of vigorous physical activity;

(v) Improving the quality of physical education curricula and increasing training of physical education teachers;

(vi) Enforcing existing physical education requirements; and

(vii) Pursuing contracts that both encourage healthy eating by students and reduce school dependence on profits from the sale of foods of minimal nutritional value;

(2) Begin the implementation of standards developed by the committee with the approval of the Department of Education and the State Board of Health; and

(3) Require that goals and objectives for nutrition and physical activity be incorporated into the annual school planning and reporting process.

(f) (1) The Department of Education and the Department of Health shall report annually on progress in implementing nutrition and physical education standards to the chairs of the House Interim Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Interim Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor, the House Interim Committee on Education, and the Senate Interim Committee on Education. (2) The State Board of Education shall submit to the House Interim Committee on Education and the Senate Interim Committee on Education for the committees' review any proposed rules regarding physical education or physical activity standards for grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12) developed pursuant to this section.