BILL NUMBER: SB 19 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 913
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 13, 2001
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 12, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 6, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 4, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 20, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 4, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 3, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 8, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 1, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Senator Escutia
(Principal coauthor: Senator Alpert)
(Coauthors: Senators Bowen, Kuehl, Ortiz, Romero, Speier,
Torlakson, and Vasconcellos)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alquist, Aroner, Calderon, Cedillo,
Chavez, Diaz, Firebaugh, Keeley, Koretz, Steinberg, Strom-Martin, and
Washington)
DECEMBER 4, 2000
An act to add Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 49430) to
Chapter 9 of Part 27 of the Education Code, relating to pupil health,
and making an appropriation therefor.
(Approved by Governor October 14, 2001. Filed with
Secretary of State October 14, 2001.)
I am signing Senate Bill 19, which will help to significantly
improve the nutrition and eating habits of California's school
children. This bill establishes, as of January 1, 2004, various
prohibitions on the sale of beverages in elementary and middle
schools and places nutritional standards on the type of foods that
may be sold to pupils during school breaks and through vending
machines. The bill also increases the reimbursement a school
receives for free and reduced-price meals and permits schools
districts to convene a Child Nutrition and Physical Activity Advisory
Committee. The bill appropriates $5.5 million for grants to local
school districts to implement the new nutrition standards and for
monitoring and technical assistance costs of the State Department of
Education.
Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States and
is a primary factor in type 2 diabetes and other long-term health
problems. While poor diet and physician inactivity have been found
to adversely influence the ability to learn and decrease motivation
and attentiveness, healthy food has a positive impact on academic
achievement.
While I am supportive of the new standards contained in SB19, I am
deleting the appropriation of $5.5 million in the bill because it is
premature to allocate General Fund without first exploring the use
of federal funds for this purpose. California does not currently use
its full allotment of federal child nutrition funding that may be
available to assist local districts in meeting the nutrition
standards in this bill. Since the provisions of the bill are not
intended to be operative for another two years, there is sufficient
time to consider alternative funding options without jeopardizing
timely implementation of the new standards.
GRAY DAVIS, Governor
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 19, Escutia. Pupil health.
(1) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district
to give diligent care to the health and physical development of
pupils.
This bill would authorize every public school to post a summary of
nutrition and physical activity laws and regulations, and the school
district policies and would require the State Department of
Education to develop the summary of the laws and regulations.
(2) Existing law requires that 50% of the items, other than foods
reimbursed under federal law, offered for sale each schoolday at any
schoolsite by any entity or organization during regular school hours
be selected from a prescribed list of foods.
The bill would, commencing January 1, 2004, require the sale of
all foods on school grounds at elementary and middle schools, as
defined, and at middle and high schools participating in a pilot
program established by the bill, to be approved by the person or
persons designated for this purpose by the school district, subject
to funding being appropriated in the Budget Act of 2003.
The bill would, subject to funding being appropriated in the
Budget Act of 2003, commencing January 1, 2004, with certain
exceptions, permit the sale of foods at elementary schools only as
full meals during breakfast and lunch periods and would require items
that are sold during specified breaks to meet certain standards.
The bill would restrict the sale of specified beverages at elementary
and middle schools. The bill would require certain foods sold to
pupils at specified times to meet specified requirements.
(3) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to reimburse school districts for certain costs associated with free
and reduced price meals.
This bill would, commencing January 1, 2004, require that
reimbursement to be increased to 23
per meal sold or served to pupils at elementary or middle schools.
e (4) Existing law provides for various advisory committees to be
formed at the school district level.
This bill would authorize a school district maintaining at least
one middle school to convene a Child Nutrition and Physical Activity
Advisory Committee that would develop and recommend to the governing
board of the school for its adoption a school district policy on
nutrition and physical activity. The committee would include school
district governing board members, school administrators, food service
directors, food service staff, parents, pupils, physical and health
education teachers, dietitians, doctors, nurses, and interested
community members. In developing the policy, the committee would be
required to hold at least one public hearing. The bill would require
the State Department of Education to provide a grant to a school
district that develops and adopts a policy by January 1, 2003. The
bill would appropriate $5,500,000 to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction for grants and technical support to school districts, and
for program evaluation, as prescribed.
The funds appropriated by this bill for grants to school districts
would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school
districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of
Article XVI of the California Constitution.
(5) By imposing new requirements on school districts, the bill
would impose state-mandated local programs.
(6) This bill would require the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to supervise the implementation of certain provisions
enacted by the bill, as prescribed, for noncompliance. If the
Superintendent of Public Instruction finds that a school district or
county superintendent of schools fails to comply with those
provisions, the superintendent would be required to provide the
school district with a noncompliance notification and the school
district would be required to adopt a corrective plan.
(7) The bill would require the Department of Education to
establish a pilot program in which high schools voluntarily adopt
food sale requirements.
(8) This bill would require the State Department of Education,
with advice from the Child Nutrition Advisory Council, to design and
implement a financial incentive grant program to help and encourage
schools to implement their policies and meet specified goals.
(9) This bill would require the State Department of Education to
monitor implementation of the program and to report to the
Legislature annually and on June 1, 2004, as prescribed.
(10) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels in California
and throughout the nation. Recent studies have shown that more than
30 percent of California youth are overweight and that adolescent
obesity has doubled over the past two decades. In some California
school districts, as many as 50 percent of pupils are overweight.
(b) Overweight and obese children are at higher risk for long-term
health problems, including cardiovascular disease, stroke,
hypertension, high blood pressure, gallbladder disease, Type 2
diabetes, asthma, and certain cancers. The lives of overweight youth
are often also affected by discrimination, psychological stress,
poor body image, and low self-esteem. Eighty percent of obese
adolescents remain obese as adults.
(c) Two-thirds of all deaths in California result from four
chronic diseases: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes.
Health experts agree that one of the most effective ways to prevent
these chronic diseases is to establish policies and programs that
encourage children and adolescents to develop healthy eating and
exercise habits they can maintain throughout their lives.
(d) A child who is physically healthy is more likely to be
academically motivated, alert, and successful. Results from the 1999
Physical Fitness test showed that only 20 percent of pupils in
grades 5, 7, and 9 met the requirement to be considered fit.
(e) Healthy eating also plays an important role in learning and
cognitive development. Poor diet has been found to adversely
influence the ability to learn and to decrease motivation and
attentiveness.
(f) The school environment plays an influential role in the foods
children eat nearly every day. While the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) regulates the nutrient content of meals sold
under its reimbursable meal program, similar standards do not exist
for "competitive foods" that are sold outside the USDA meal programs.
Competitive foods are often very high in added sugar, sodium, and
fat.
(g) The state's support of school food services is inadequate.
The State Department of Education monitors schools only once every
five years and lacks the resources to provide any technical
assistance. The last time the state increased the state meal
subsidy, beyond a cost-of-living adjustment, was in 1981, leaving
California ranked 41st in the nation in school meal reimbursement
rates. In order to generate revenue, many schools sell or allow
vendors to sell competitive foods on campus.
(h) In a survey conducted in 2000, 95 percent of responding
California school districts reported that they sell fast foods, the
most common of which are sodas, pizza, cookies, chips, and burritos,
contributing to the fact that carbonated drinks are the single
biggest source of refined sugars in the American diet, approximately
70 percent of children in the United States who are 2 to 11 years of
age exceeded current dietary recommendations for intakes of total and
saturated fat, and only 21 percent of California children meet the
goal of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
SEC. 2. Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 49430) is added to
Chapter 9 of Part 27 of the Education Code, to read:
Article 2.5. The Pupil Nutrition, Health, and Achievement Act
of 2001
49430. As used in this article, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Elementary school" means a public school that maintains any
grade from kindergarten to grade 6, inclusive, but no grade higher
than grade 6.
(b) "Middle school" means any public school that maintains grade 7
or 8, but no grade higher than grade 9.
(c) "High school" means any public school maintaining any of
grades 10 to 12, inclusive.
(d) "Full meal" means any combination of food items that meet a
USDA-approved meal pattern.
49430.3. Notwithstanding any provisions of law, including, but
not limited to, Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 38080) of Part 23
or Section 48931, this article shall control over contrary provisions
relating to the sale of food items to public school pupils.
49430.5. (a) The reimbursement a school receives for free and
reduced price meals sold or served to pupils in elementary or middle
schools shall be increased to twenty-three cents ($0.23).
(b) Each elementary and middle school shall receive a
reimbursement of ten cents ($0.10) for meals sold at full price.
(c) To qualify for the increased reimbursement for free and
reduced price meals and for the reimbursement for meals sold at full
price, a school shall follow the United States Department of
Agriculture's Enhanced Food Based Meal Pattern, the United States
Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Standard Meal Planning,
California's SHAPE Menu Patterns, or the USDA Traditional Meal
Pattern.
(d) The reimbursement rates set forth in this section shall be
adjusted annually for increases in cost of living in the same manner
set forth in Section 42238.1.
(e) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2004 and
shall become operative only if funding is approved in the Budget Act
of 2003 for the purposes of increased reimbursements pursuant to this
article.
49431. (a) At elementary and middle schools, and in those schools
participating in the pilot program created pursuant to Section
49433.7, the sale of all foods on school grounds shall be approved
for compliance with the nutrition standards in the section by the
person or persons responsible for implementing these provisions as
designated by the school district.
(b) (1) At elementary schools, the only food that may be sold to
pupils during breakfast and lunch periods is food that is sold as a
full meal. This paragraph does not prohibit the sale of fruit,
nonfried vegetables, legumes, beverages, dairy products, or grain
products, as individual food items if they meet the requirements set
forth in this subdivision.
(2) An individual food item sold to a pupil during morning or
afternoon breaks at elementary schools shall meet all of the
following standards:
(A) Not more than 35 percent of its total calories shall be from
fat. This subparagraph does not apply to the sale of nuts or seeds.
(B) Not more than 10 percent of its total calories shall be from
saturated fat.
(C) Not more than 35 percent of its total weight shall be composed
of sugar. This subparagraph does not apply to the sale of fruits or
vegetables.
(3) Regardless of the time of day water, milk, 100 percent fruit
juices, or fruit-based drinks that are composed of no less than 50
percent fruit juice and that have no added sweeteners are the only
beverages that may be sold to pupils at an elementary school.
(c) In middle schools, from one-half hour before the start of the
schoolday until after the end of the last lunch period, no carbonated
beverage shall be sold to pupils.
(d) At middle schools, vending machines that contain beverage
items that do not meet the requirements in this section shall remain
locked or be rendered inoperable until after the end of the last
lunch period.
(e) An elementary school may permit the sale of food items that do
not comply with subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, of this section
as part of a school fundraising event in any of the following
circumstances:
(1) By pupils of the school if the sale of those items takes place
off of school premises.
(2) By pupils of the school if the sale of those items takes place
at least one-half hour after the end of the schoolday.
(f) Notwithstanding Article 3 (commencing with Section 33050) of
Chapter 1 of Part 20, this section shall not be waived pursuant to
that article.
(g) Although a middle school is required to comply with those
provisions of this section applicable to middle schools, it may, in
addition, elect to apply for participation in the pilot program
pursuant to Section 49433.7.
(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2004.
School districts shall be required to comply with this section only
if funds are appropriated in the Budget Act of 2003 for the purposes
of providing support and technical assistance to school districts as
set forth in Section 49433.5, for the purposes of providing grants to
participating school districts as set forth in subdivision (c) of
Section 49433, and for the purposes of increasing meal reimbursements
as set forth in Section 49430.5. The State Department of Education
shall file a written statement with the Secretary of the Senate and
the Chief Clerk of the Assembly within 30 days after enactment of the
Budget Act of 2003 stating whether funds have been appropriated as
set forth in this subdivision and in Section 49430.5.
49432. By January 1, 2004, every public school may post a summary
of nutrition and physical activity laws and regulations, and shall
post the school district's nutrition and physical activity policies,
in public view within all school cafeterias or other central eating
areas. The State Department of Education shall develop the summary
of state law and regulations.
49433. (a) A school district maintaining at least one elementary
or middle school or high school that is participating in the pilot
program pursuant to Section 49433.7 may convene a Child Nutrition and
Physical Activity Advisory Committee that shall develop and
recommend to the governing board of the school district for its
adoption, school district policies on nutrition and physical
activity. The committee shall include, but need not be limited to,
school district governing board members, school administrators, food
service directors, food service staff, staff, parents, pupils,
physical and health education teachers, dietitians, health care
professionals, and interested community members. In developing the
policy, the committee shall hold at least one public hearing.
(b) The policies shall address issues and goals, including, but
not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Implementing the nutritional standards set forth in Section
49431.
(2) Encouraging fundraisers that promote good health habits and
discouraging fundraisers that promote unhealthy foods.
(3) Ensuring that no pupil is hungry.
(4) Improving nutritional standards.
(5) Increasing the availability of fresh fruits and vegetables,
including provisions that encourage schools to make fruits and
vegetables available at all locations where food is sold.
(6) Ensuring, to the extent possible, that the food served is
fresh.
(7) Encouraging eligible pupils to participate in the school lunch
program.
(8) Integrating nutrition and physical activity into the overall
curriculum.
(9) Ensuring regular professional development for food services
staff.
(10) Ensuring pupils a minimum of 30 minutes to eat lunch and 20
minutes to eat breakfast, when provided.
(11) Ensuring pupils engage in healthful levels of vigorous
physical activity.
(12) Ensuring pupils receive nutrition education.
(13) Improving the quality of physical education curricula and
increasing training of physical education teachers.
(14) Enforcing existing physical education requirements.
(15) Altering the economic structures in place to encourage
healthy eating by pupils and reduce dependency on generating profits
for the school from the sale of unhealthy foods.
(16) Developing a financing plan to implement the policies.
(17) Increasing the availability of organic fruits and vegetables
and school gardens.
(18) Collaborating with local farmers' markets.
(c) A school district maintaining at least one elementary or
middle school may apply to the State Department of Education for a
grant to offset the costs of developing and adopting policies
pursuant to this section. The grants shall be one-time grants and
shall be available to applicant school districts by March 1, 2002.
(d) A participating school district shall receive a grant of no
less than four thousand dollars ($4,000) and no more than twenty-five
thousand dollars ($25,000), depending upon the size of the school
district, for the purpose of offsetting the costs of developing the
school district nutrition and physical activity policies.
49433.5. The State Department of Education shall provide
technical support and assistance to school districts in implementing
Section 49433. The technical support and assistance shall include,
but need not be limited to, highlighting model nutrition programs,
disseminating information to assist in the financial management of
the food service programs, identifying fundraising mechanisms for
school food services programs and for pupil activities that encourage
healthy eating habits among pupils, and providing information
regarding the current best practices in school child nutrition
programs.
49433.7. The State Department of Education shall establish a
three-year pilot program in which a total of not less than 10 high
schools, middle schools, or any combination thereof, voluntarily
adopt the provisions of Sections 49431 and 49432. The pilot program
shall commence in the fall of the 2002-03 school year. Participating
districts will be eligible to receive a grant pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 49433. Districts will be eligible for an
increased reimbursement rate for free and reduced price meals served
at participating high schools as set forth in Section 49430.
49433.9. A school district participating in the pilot program
shall comply with all of the following requirements:
(a) (1) No beverage other than any of the following shall be sold
to pupils from one-half hour before the start of the schoolday until
one-half hour after the end of the schoolday:
(A) Fruit-based drinks that are composed of no less than 50
percent fruit juice and that have no added sweeteners.
(B) Drinking water.
(C) Milk, including, but not limited to, chocolate milk, soy milk,
rice milk, and other similar dairy or nondairy milk.
(D) Electrolyte replacement beverages that do not contain more
than 42 grams of added sweetener per 20 ounce serving.
(2) No carbonated beverage shall be sold to pupils from one-half
hour before the start of the schoolday until one-half hour after the
end of the schoolday.
(3) (A) Except as set forth in subparagraph (B), no beverage that
exceeds 12 ounces per serving shall be sold to pupils from one-half
hour before the start of the schoolday until one-half hour after the
end of the schoolday.
(B) The 12-ounce maximum serving requirement does not apply to any
of the following:
(i) Drinking water.
(ii) Milk, including, but not limited to, chocolate milk, soy
milk, rice milk, and other similar dairy or nondairy milk.
(iii) An electrolyte replacement beverage. An electrolyte
replacement beverage shall not exceed 20 ounces per serving.
(4) For the purposes of this subdivision and paragraph (3) of
subdivision (b) of Section 494312, "added sweetener" means any
additive that enhances the sweetness of the beverage, including, but
not limited to, added sugar, but does not include the natural sugar
or sugars that are contained within the fruit juice which is a
component of the beverage.
(b) No food item shall be sold to pupils from one-half hour before
the start of the schoolday until one-half hour after the end of the
schoolday unless it does not exceed 12 ounces per serving and it
meets all of the standards set forth in subparagraphs (A) to (C) of
paragraph (2) of Section 49431.
(c) Entree items and side dish serving sizes shall be no larger
than the portions of those foods served as part of the federal school
meal program.
(d) Fruit and nonfried vegetables shall be offered for sale at any
location where food is sold.
49434. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
annually randomly select not less than 10 percent of the school
districts of the state to report compliance with this article as set
forth in subdivision (b). Although the selection process shall be
essentially random, the process shall be weighted in such a manner so
as to ensure that the pilot program contains participants that, as a
group, are representative of the geographic diversity of the state.
The group selected shall be sufficient to provide a statistically
random and accurate sampling of the state as a whole.
(b) Each school district selected pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction in the
coordinated compliance review regarding the extent to which it has
complied with this article.
(c) For any school district that the Superintendent of Public
Instruction finds is not in compliance with the mandatory provisions
of this article, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall issue
a notice of noncompliance. The noncomplying school district shall
adopt, and provide to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, a
corrective plan. The corrective plan shall set forth the actions to
be taken by the school district in order to ensure that the school
district will be in full compliance within one year from the issuance
of the noncompliance notification.
49435. The State Department of Education, with advice from the
Child Nutrition Advisory Council, shall design and implement a
financial incentive grant program to help and encourage schools to
implement the school district policies and meet the goals described
in subdivision (b) of Section 49433.
49436. (a) The State Department of Education shall monitor the
implementation of Sections 49431, 49433, 49433.5, 49433.7, and
49433.9 and shall report to the Legislature by January 1, 2005, the
department's evaluation of all of the following:
(1) The fiscal impact of the policies and standards developed by
school districts.
(2) The effect of this article upon school districts and pupils,
including, but not limited to, an assessment of pupil responses and
related findings.
(3) Recommendations for improvements or additions.
(4) The resulting changes in food and beverage sales at schools.
(b) The State Department of Education shall report to the
Legislature by June 1, 2004, regarding the initial implementation of
Section 49431.
SEC. 3. The sum of five million five hundred thousand dollars
($5,500,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the
State Department of Education for the purposes of this article for
allocation as follows:
(a) One million dollars ($1,000,000) for the purpose of providing
technical support and assistance to school districts in implementing
Section 49433 of the Education Code as set forth in Section 49433.5
of the Education Code.
(b) Four million dollars ($4,000,000) for providing grants to
applicant school districts for the purposes of developing policies as
set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 49433 of the Education Code.
(c) Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for the purposes of
monitoring and reporting pursuant to Section 49436 of the Education
Code.
SEC. 4. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.