5405 Wellness Policy

The Central Islip Union Free School District emphasizes health and wellness and is committed to providing an environment that promotes and protects children’s health, well-being and the ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity.

In accordance with PL 108-265 (Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004), the Central Islip Union Free School District adopted the first policy (October 12, 2010) addressing wellness.

Pursuant to PL 111-296 (Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010), the CIUFSD supports the following revised wellness policy (April 8, 2013 and November 14, 2016).

Goals: Given the documented connection between proper nutrition, physical activity and academic success, the Board of Education adopts the following goals:

1. The District’s wellness policy will be considered when planning school-based activities.
2. The Food and Nutrition program complies with federal, state and local requirements and is accessible to all students.
3. Sequential and interdisciplinary nutrition education is promoted.
4. Patterns of meaningful physical activity connect to students’ lives outside of physical education.
5. School-based activities are consistent with the district’s wellness policy goals.
6. Foods and beverages sold during the school day, including vending, concessions and school stores have nutritional value.
7. Snacks provided during the school day, in before or after-school care and/or enrichment programs will make a positive contribution to children’s diets and health.
8. The school environment is safe, comfortable, pleasing and allows ample time and space for eating meals and conducting physical activity.
9. The use of foods and beverages as a reward or punishment is not permitted.
10. Physical activity should be used as a celebration and reward.
11. Walking to school will be promoted with safety as the top priority.
12. The District and individual schools will collaborate with all stakeholders in order to promote wellness within the community.
13. Parents are invited to wellness committee meetings and will have the opportunity to give feedback on wellness goals.
14. Beginning with the 2015/16 school year, the District is participating in a partnership with Western Suffolk BOCES (WSBOCES), Creating Healthy Schools and Communities to further assist in achieving these policy goals.
15. WSBOCES is providing additional assistance in increasing access to healthy affordable foods, increasing the school district’s ability to meet HHFKA nutrition standards, establishing a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) and communicating, implementing, monitoring and reviewing the policy guidelines.

District Wellness Committee: Towards this end, the Central Islip Union Free School District has established a District wellness committee to assess current activities, programs and policies available in the District; identify specific areas of need within the District; develop and revise the wellness policy; provide resources for implementation and provide mechanisms for communication, implementation, evaluation, revision and updating of such policy and make recommendations for review and adoption by the Board of Education.

1. The District Wellness Committee will remain active and meet regularly during the school year.
2. The District’s wellness committee will include a broad representation of stakeholders.  To the extent possible, this diverse group of individuals will include but is not limited to, representatives from each of the following groups: 
   1. Parents;
   2. Students;
   3. The District’s food service program;
   4. The School Board of Education (BOE) or designee;
   5. School administrators;
   6. Members of the general public including community based organizations;
   7. Teachers;
   8. School health professional (nurses, representatives from onsite school based health centers, medical directors, etc.);
   9. Mental health and social services staff (school counselors, psychologist, social workers, etc.); and
   10. SNAP coordinator or educator as appropriate.

Nutrition Education

The District aims to teach, model, encourage and support healthy eating by students.

1. All students in grades K-12 will receive a comprehensive, sequential nutrition education.
2. The district health curriculum includes nutrition education and aligns with state and federal standards and learning objectives.
3. Nutrition education is interactive and teaches the knowledge and skills necessary to adopt healthy eating behaviors.
4. Nutrition education will be behavior focused and teach skills such as planning a healthy meal, evaluating nutrient information and reading a nutrition facts label.
5. Nutrition education will link with the school food environment.
6. Efforts will be made to integrate nutrition education into the core curricula as appropriate.

Wellness Promotion and Marketing

The District will promote positive, motivating messages (i.e., posters, announcements, signage, etc.) about healthy lifestyle practices throughout the school setting.

1. The district will establish a whole school environment which includes education and promotion that support healthy eating and positive nutrition-related behaviors. 
2. Students will receive consistent nutrition messages throughout the school, classroom and cafeteria. 
3. The district will provide positive, motivating messages (i.e. posters, announcements, social media, newsletters, etc.) about healthy lifestyle practices throughout the school setting.  School personnel will reinforce these positive messages.
4. School cafeterias will be aesthetically pleasing. Posters, murals, etc. that encourage healthy eating and physical activity will be prominently displayed.
5. The advertising of foods and beverages of minimal nutritional value, that are not permissible for sale in District, should not be advertised on any school property.
6. Every effort will be made to select materials free of branding names/ logos and illustrations of unhealthy foods.
7. Advertising in school publications and school media that does not meet the Smart Snacks standards must be approved by principal or designee.
8. It is recommended that schools avoid participation in fundraising or corporate incentive programs that promote a message inconsistent with our goals for a healthy school and community.
9. Wellness information, including nutrition, will be provided to the community through a variety of sources, including the “Nutrition Nuggets” and “Food & Fitness” newsletters and the District website.
10. The “Nutrition Nuggets” monthly newsletter will be disseminated to K-6 students and the “Food & Fitness” newsletter will be disseminated to 7-12 students by the Director of Physical Education, Health, Athletics and Health Services.
11. Parents, staff members, the community and students serve as role models in practicing healthy eating habits and being physically active.
12. District staff is encouraged to disseminate heart healthy suggestions to students and to encourage students to start each day with a healthy breakfast.
13. Parents will be reminded of the importance of healthy snacks, by classroom teachers, and will be encouraged to send healthy snacks to school with their children.
14. District staff is encouraged to promote healthy choices for daily classroom snacks.
15. The District will publicize information about nutritional content of meals to students and parents through the District website and menus.
16. The District will assist where possible in promoting Health Fairs that will take place during the school year.  Individual schools are encouraged to have building Health Fairs.

Physical Education (PE) and Physical Activity (PA): Physical activity is an important factor in staying healthy and being ready to learn.  The nationally recommended amount of physical activity for children and adolescents is 60 minutes per day.  Therefore, the District will provide opportunities for every student to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to establish and maintain physical fitness, participate in physical education, and to understand the short and long term benefits of a physically literate lifestyle.

1. The District will have a BOE approved physical education plan on file with NYSED.
2. CIUFSD’s physical education curriculum is a comprehensive, standards-based curriculum that follows a scope and sequence of progression of skill development in grades K-12.
3. The K-12 PE curriculum aligns with state and national standards in physical education and all students are required to take physical education.
4. The district will strive to meet physical education requirements for required instruction time, as put forth by the NYSED Regulations of the Commissioner, Section 135.4.
5. Physical education classes will emphasize lifelong physical activity and well-being and will be taught by a certified physical education teacher.
6. Physical education class size will be consistent with best practice.
7. Adequate space and equipment will be provided to ensure safe and effective instruction.
8. Teachers responsible for physical education shall participate in annual professional development in health and wellness.
9. Students will not be pulled out of PE for other content area instruction or for disciplinary purposes.
10. Schools will develop, implement and monitor a comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) based on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) CSPAP model that provides physical activity throughout the school day and addresses the needs of staff, students and the school community.
11. A CSPAP model reflects strong coordination and synergy across all of the components: quality physical education as the foundation, physical activity before, during, and after school, staff involvement, and family and community engagement.
12. These opportunities are in addition to and not a substitute for physical education.
13. The District will plan activities outside the school day that address family and community engagement in physical activity.
14. Supervised recess time will be provided to all students within each school day at all elementary schools.
15. Staff members shall not deny participation in recess or any other physical activity opportunities as a form of discipline unless the safety of students is in question.
16. Through the CIUFSD, facilities will be available for community organizations to emphasize the importance of physical activity and to support youth programs that are geared toward team sports.
17. It is the intent of the policy to support community youth programs by allowing access, when appropriate, to the district’s physical activity facilities outside of the normal school day.
18. Students shall have opportunities for physical activity after the completion of the school day. These opportunities include, but are not limited to, interscholastic athletics, intramurals and the 21^st Century Community Learning Center. 
19. Parents of participating 21st Century Community Center students are invited to use the High School Wellness Center after 3:40 p.m.
20. The District will partner with local government and community based agencies to investigate and support active transport to school.

Nutritional Standards for USDA Child Nutrition Programs and School Meals

School meals will meet, at a minimum, program requirements and nutritional standards set forth by federal regulations under CFR part 210 (National School Lunch Program), Part 220 (National School Breakfast Program), the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA).

1. Meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program during the school day will:
   1. Be appealing and attractive to children;
   2. Be served in clean and pleasant settings;
   3. Offer a variety of fruits and vegetables;
   4. Serve only low-fat (1%) and fat-free milk and nutritionally-equivalent non-dairy alternatives (to be defined by USDA);
   5. Implement a menu whereby all of the served grains are whole grain as per HHFKA and
   6. Use cooking methods to reduce fat in school meals whenever possible.
2. Schools will aim to include students in meal development through taste-tests of new items and other input in order to identify new, foods that are healthful, and appealing food choices.
3. Students will have the opportunity to provide input on local, cultural, and ethnic favorites.
4. Applications for free and reduced priced meals will be sent home to all families at the beginning of the school year and the application is also available year round on the District website.
5. Schools will make every effort to eliminate any social stigma attached to, and prevent the overt identification of, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals. Toward this end, schools will utilize electronic identification and payment systems; and promote the availability of school meals to all students.
6. The District has a closed campus policy and students are not allowed to leave campus for breakfast or lunch.
7. The District will implement the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) which entitles all children to free breakfast and lunch, beginning September 2016 until further notice. 
8. From the beginning of the school day until the end of the last scheduled lunch period, no sweetened soda water, no chewing gum, no candy including hard candy, jelly, gums, marshmallow candies, fondant, licorice, spun candy and candy coated popcorn, and no water ices except those which contain fruit or fruit juices, shall be sold in any public school within the state (N.Y. EDN. Law §915). 
9. All beverages will follow the Smart Snacks guidelines.  The principals will make every effort to give students adequate time, from the time the student is seated, to eat lunch.
10. The District is supportive of students having at least 10 minutes to eat after sitting down for breakfast and 20 minutes after sitting down for lunch.
11. Recess will be offered before lunch on a rotating schedule.
12. Drinking water will be available at no cost to all students throughout the school day.
13. Free potable water will be made available where meals are served.
14. All snacks and beverages served/sold to students participating in on site after school clubs or before and after care will strive to meet the USDA Smart Snacks in Schools nutrition standards.
15. Food service managers and staff will be provided with monthly updates, training and professional development in the area of food and nutrition as outlined in the HHFKA of 2010.
16. .For examples please visit the USDA website, http://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program-nslp

Nutritional Standards for other Foods and Beverages Sold: Section 10 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 USC 1779, as amended by the HHFKA of 2010, requires that all food and beverages sold outside of the school meals programs, (a la cart, vending and school stores) on the school campus at any time during the school day, (midnight the night before until 30 minutes after the official end of the school day) must meet the nutrition standards set forth in the final rule titled, “National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program: Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in School as required by the HHFKA of 2010.” This final rule, also known as “Smart Snacks in School,” was published on June 28, 2013 went into effect on July 1, 2014 and was finalized on July 21, 2016.   View USDA Smart Snacks in Schools guidelines here http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/allfoods_flyer.pdf

1. Any food sold in schools during the school day must:
   1. Be a “whole grain-rich” grain product; or
   2. Have as the first ingredient: a fruit, vegetable, dairy product, or protein food; or
   3. Be a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup of fruit and/or vegetable; or
2. Foods must also meet several nutrient requirements and are limited to:
   1. Calorie Limits
      1. Snack items:  ≤ 200 calories
      2. Entrée items: ≤ 350 calories
   2. Sodium Limits
      1. Sodium limits for Snack items: ≤200 mg sodium**
      2. Sodium limits for Entree items: ≤480 mg sodium
   3. Fat Limits
      1. Total fat ≤ 35% of calories
      2. Saturated Fat < 10% of calories
      3. Trans fat:  zero grams
   4. Sugar Limits
      1. Sugar ≤ 35 % of weight from total sugar in foods
3. Nutrition Standards for Beverages: All schools may sell
   1. Plain water (with or without carbonation)
   2. Unflavored low fat milk
   3. Unflavored or flavored fat free milk and milk alternatives permitted by NSLP/SBP
   4. 100% fruit or vegetable juice and
   5. 100% fruit or vegetable juice diluted with water (with or without carbonation), and no added sweeteners
   6. Elementary schools may sell up to 8-ounce portions, while middle schools and high schools may sell up to 12-ounce portions of milk and juice.  There is no portion size limit for plain water.
   7. Beyond this, the standards allow additional “no calorie” and “lower calorie” beverage options for high school students.
      1. No more than 20-ounce portions of calorie-free, flavored water (with or without carbonation); and other flavored and/or carbonated beverages that are labeled to contain <5 calories per 8 fluid ounces or ≤ 10 calories per 20 fluid ounces.
      2. No more than 12-ounce portions of beverages with ≤ 40 calories per 8 fluid ounces, or ≤ 60 calories per 12 fluid ounces.
      3. In addition, schools will share information about the nutritional content of meals at points-of-purchase.
4. Fundraising: All food and beverages sold outside of the school meals programs, on the school campus, at any time during the school day, (midnight the night before until 30 minutes after the official end of the school day) will follow the Smart Snacks in School guidelines.
   1. The District will encourage fundraising activities that are nonfood related and encourage physical activity.
   2. The District will make available a list of non-food related fundraising activities.
   3. Each principal within his/her school will promote nonfood fundraising activities and celebrations and will review and approve fundraising activities to ensure that they meet the Smart Snacks in Schools requirements.
   4. The Wellness Committee headed by the Director of Physical Education, Health, Athletics and Health Services and the Food Nutrition Director are available to assist in evaluating a fundraiser’s compliance with the Smart Snacks rule.
   5. To see if  a product meets the  Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards please follow this link, https://foodplanner.healthiergeneration.org/calculator/
5. Celebrations
   1. Classrooms and student based clubs will be encouraged to have nonfood celebrations.
   2. The celebration of birthdays, holidays and seasons with special privileges, activities, songs, games and physical activity is to be encouraged as an alternative to food-based celebrations. 
   3. Food based celebrations will be limited to once a month.
   4. We encourage celebrations with nutritious options. 
   5. Due to concerns about food safety and food allergies, all food brought to school must be pre-packaged, store brought items.
   6. Prepackaged foods must have an expiration date and contain a nutrition label.
   7. Schools will discourage students from sharing their foods or beverages with one another during meal or snack times, given concerns about allergies and other restrictions on some children’s diets.
6. School-sponsored Events (such as, but not limited to athletic events, dances, or performances).
   1. We encourage organizations that are operating concessions at school functions to sell healthier options.
   2. 20 % of foods and beverages offered or sold at school-sponsored events outside the school day will meet the nutrition standards for meals or for foods and beverages sold individually, Smart Snacks in School.

The district will conform to all federal and state laws and regulations governing school meals, foods sold in competition with school meals, and requirements for school nutrition and wellness policies.

Communicating, Implementing, Monitoring, and Evaluation of Wellness Policy

Evaluating, monitoring and gaining feedback including an assessment of student, parent, teacher, and administration satisfaction with the wellness policy, is essential to the District's evaluation program. The CIUFSD will maintain on ongoing District Wellness Committee to assess current activities, programs and policies available to the District; identify specific areas of need within the District and provide mechanism for communication, monitoring and review of the wellness policies and initiatives.

1. The Superintendent of Schools, or designee, will ensure compliance with the established wellness policy.
2. In each school, the principal, or designee, will ensure compliance with the wellness policy in his/her school and will report yearly on the school’s compliance to the Superintendent of Schools or designee.
3. School food service staff, at the school or District level, will ensure compliance with nutrition policies within school food service areas and will report on this matter to the Superintendent or designee.
4. The District Wellness Committee will review the wellness policy bi-annually and revise as necessary. 
5. The District Wellness Committee will develop an informal qualitative summary report following each year of policy implementation.
6. This report will ensure compliance with the District’s wellness policy, based on input from schools within the District. The report will be provided to the Superintendent or designee.
7. Every two years the District Wellness Committee will conduct a quantitative assessment of policy implementation using the Wellness School Assessment Tool Implementation (WellSAT i).
8. Upon the results of the above assessment, the District Wellness Committee will support principals in developing work plans to facilitate its implementation.
9. The Superintendent/designee shall prepare a tri-annual summary report on District-wide compliance with the District's wellness policy based on input from schools within the District and the District Wellness Committee.
10. This tri-annual summary report will be available on the District website and will also be available students, their families and community residents upon request. 

Adoption date: October 12, 2010
Revision date:  December 12, 2016

5405 Wellness Policy

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Reference:
P.L. 111-296 (Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010)
P.L. 108-265 (Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004)
42 USC §§1758(f) (1); 1766(a) (Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act)
42 USC §1779 (Child Nutrition Act)
7 CFR §210.10; 210.11 (National School Lunch Program participation requirements – standards for lunches, snacks, and competitive foods)
7 CFR §220.8 (School Breakfast Program participation requirements – nutrition standards)
8 NYCRR Part 135 (Health and Physical Education curricular requirements); §114.1 (School Breakfast Program Requirements)
Appeal of Phillips, 37 EDR 204 (1997) (dec. no. 13,843)
Appeal of Williams, 32 EDR 621 (1993) (dec. no. 12,934)