The School District of Palm Beach County, Florida - Wellness Promotion Policy
Wellness Promotion Policy
A local school wellness policy ("Wellness Policy") is a written document that guides a local educational agency (LEA) or school district's efforts to establish a school environment that promotes students' health, well-being, and ability to learn. The wellness policy requirement was established by the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108 - 265), and further strengthened by the Healthy, Hunger - Free Kids Act of 2010 (Public Law 111- 296). The School District of Palm Beach County has emphasized ongoing implementation and assessment of its "Wellness Policy" also called the "Wellness Promotion Policy (2.035)".
On July 29, 2016 USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) finalized regulations to create a framework and guidelines for written wellness policies established by LEAs. The final rule requires LEAs to begin developing a revised local school wellness policy during school year 2016-2017. LEAs must fully comply with the requirements of the final rule by June 30, 2017.
Content of the Wellness Policy – at a minimum, policies are required to include:
- Specific goals for nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that promote student wellness. LEAs are required to review and consider evidence-based strategies in determining these goals.
- Standards and nutrition guidelines for all foods and beverages sold to students on the school campus during the school day that are consistent with Federal regulations for:
- School meal nutrition standards, and the
- Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards.
- Standards for all foods and beverages provided, but not sold, to students during the school day (e.g., in classroom parties, classroom snacks brought by parents, or other foods given as incentives).
- Policies for food and beverage marketing that allow marketing and advertising of only those foods and beverages that meet the Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards.
- Description of public involvement, public updates, policy leadership, and evaluation plan.
Wellness Leadership – LEAs must establish wellness policy leadership of one or more LEA and/or school official(s) who have the authority and responsibility to ensure each school complies with the policy.
Public Involvement – at a minimum, LEAs must:
- Permit participation by the general public and the school community (including parents, students, and representatives of the school food authority, teachers of physical education, school health professionals, the school board, and school administrators) in the wellness policy process.
Triennial Assessments – the final rule requires States agencies to assess compliance with the wellness policy requirements as a part of the general areas of the administrative review every three years.
LEAs must conduct an assessment of the wellness policy every 3 years, at a minimum. This assessment will determine the following:
- Compliance with the wellness policy,
- How the wellness policy compares to model wellness policies, and
- Progress made in attaining the goals of the wellness policy.
Documentation – the State agency will examine records during the Administrative Review, including:
- Copy of the current wellness policy,
- Documentation on how the policy and assessments are made available to the public,
- The most recent assessment of implementation of the policy, and
- Documentation of efforts to review and update the policy, including who was involved in the process and how stakeholders were made aware of their ability to participate.
Updates to the Wellness Policy – the final rule requires that LEAs update or modify the wellness policy as appropriate.
Public Updates – the rule requires that LEAs must make available to the public the following:
- The wellness policy, including any updates to and about the wellness policy, on an annual basis, at a minimum, and
- The Triennial Assessment, including progress toward meeting the goals of the policy.
The School Food Service Department continues to oversee this initiative for the entire District. Since its inception, the Wellness Promotion Policy (2.035) has been adopted and it has had 4 revisions. In addition, a Wellness Promotion Task Force was created. Our District continues to inform and update the public about the content and implementation of this policy through the District's Wellness Promotion Task Force. The Task Force expands its' participation of internal and community collaborators by fostering a broad-based approach to the values of optimal health, well-being and ability to support the District's ultimate goal of improving student performance. It meets 5 times a year with District and Community Stakeholders. To date, eleven Wellness Promotion Policy Annual Reports have been developed to evaluate the progress and growth of specific strategies, initiatives, programs, and the District's Wellness Promotion journey as a whole.
To move forward in the process of revisions and adoption for this policy, The School District of Palm Beach County held the Wellness Promotion Policy (2.035) Community/Public Input Workshop on Monday, January 30, 2017 at the District's Board Room.
Coordinated School Health Model
The new Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-296) requires the District to periodically measure and compare their established policy against other model local school wellness policies. The Florida Healthy District Coordinated School Health website has put together a Florida School District Profiles webpage showing The School District of Palm Beach County as a Gold District (2016-2018) and compares other best Practices. The School District of Palm beach County is an active member of the Healthy District Collaborative (HDC). The HDC is a group of districts that have made a high level commitment to meeting the health needs of students and staff in order to remove barriers to learning and maximize district resources.
In the 2015-2016 school year, the District coordinated again the application process for the Florida Healthy School District Assessment Tool that is provided by the Florida Coordinated School Health Partnership (CSHP), the Florida Action for Healthy Kids, and the Florida Association of District School Superintendents (FADSS) for the 2016-2018 recognition timeframe. The District's infrastructure team for each Coordinated School Health component was updated and stakeholder meetings were organized, including members from the School Health Advisory Council, to review, discuss and complete the assessment tool application. The District submitted its final application and all the verification documentation needed to the Office of Coordinated School Health of the Florida Department of Health and the Office of Healthy Schools from the Florida Department of Education on April 15, 2016 and the two year (2016-2018) achievement/recognition was announced in the Summer of 2016.
School Health Advisory Council (SHAC)
Overview
A School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) for each school district was established in the Florida School Health Services Act of 1973. The legislative intent was to involve parents, and communities in the health and education of children by providing a means for their input in planning and evaluation of local school health programs. A SHAC is composed of interested parents, school, health, business, and community leaders who serve as problem-solvers, and advisors to school districts on health-related issues.
The SHAC in Palm Beach County uses a model for reviewing school health programs recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Known as The Coordinated School Health Model, this approach focuses on eight component areas including (1) health education, (2) physical education, (3) nutrition, (4) school health services, (5) guidance, psychological, and social services, (6) healthy school environment, (7) staff wellness, and (8) family, and community involvement. The components, when looked at in a coordinated manner, have been found to be highly effective in addressing the health risk behaviors that contribute significantly to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth.
The SHAC serves as an active voice for improving the health of school children through advocacy and support for quality, coordinated health services and education programs and policies. Over the decades, the SHAC in Palm Beach County has played an important role in many issues crucial to student health and welfare. In the 1990s, SHAC focused emphasis on health education and school nurse services. It was a strong proponent of a nurse in every public school that was achieved in 1997 when the Health Care District PBC made the commitment to provide funding and joined the local school district and health department as a partner in the school health program.
For many years, the SHAC’s goals have been oriented to support efforts focused on nutrition, physical education and health education and included school board workshops on those topics. The focus shifted to addressing the needs of students with behavioral and mental health concerns when the board workshop, “What Matters Most….Health (in this case, mental health)” was presented on October 10, 2012. An important outcome of this workshop was the revision of school district policy/procedures and comprehensive district-wide training regarding students and use of the Baker Act.
The SHAC has a strong history of conducting independent surveys of students, parents, and staff on issues derived from components of the Coordinated School Health Model that are designed to provide information on student health issues necessary to support improved provision of services. Recent surveys have focused on behavioral health concerns of elementary students. The survey results were an important source of data supporting both the October 2012 school board workshop and the July 2016 presentation.
Parents and civic-minded persons with a passion for children’s health and supporting academic success are urged to consider participation on the SHAC. The Council meets monthly during the school year with educational presentations and discussions on a wide range of important school health topics. Please call the number below for more information and join us.