Wellness Promotion Policy
Continue to lead and support the Wellness Promotion Task Force meetings - Ongoing
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 February 26, 2014, USDA Food and Nutrition Service proposed regulations to create a Framework and guidelines for written wellness policies established by school districts that included the attention to the following topics:
- Public Involvement
- Content of the Wellness Policy
- Annual Progress Reports
- Triennial Assessments
- Updates to the Wellness Policy
- Public Updates
- Monitoring and Oversight
The School District of Palm Beach County continued to inform and update the public about the content and implementation of this policy through the District’s Wellness Promotion Policy Task Force. The Task Force expanded 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. Below are a few tools that were used during the 2015- 2016 school year to develop, implement, disseminate, and assess the effectiveness of the Wellness Promotion Policy in the District and community.
Web Sites
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 web page showing The School District of Palm Beach County as a Gold District (2015-2016) 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.