Local Wellness

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required all districts to establish local school wellness policies by School Year 2006‐2007.

The Healthy, Hunger‐Free Kids Act of 2010 expands the scope of wellness policies; brings in additional stakeholders in its development, implementation and review; and requires public updates on the content and implementation of the wellness policies (Section 204).

The intent is to strengthen local school wellness policies so they become useful tools in evaluating, establishing and maintaining healthy school environments, and to provide transparency to the public on key areas that affect the nutrition environment in each school.

2010 Local Wellness Policy (LWP) Requirements

  1. LWP to include, at a minimum, goals for nutrition education, nutrition promotion, physical activity, and other school‐based activities to promote student wellness, as well as nutrition guidelines for all foods available on school campus.
  2. LEAs are required to involve parents, students, teachers of physical education and school health professionals and representatives of the school food authority, the school board, school administrators and the public in the development of LWP.
  3. The stakeholders named above are required to participate in the development, implementation and periodic review and update of the LWP.
  4. LEAs can determine the specific policies appropriate for the schools under their jurisdiction, provided that those policies include all required elements specified in the Act.
  5. LEAs are required to inform and update the public (including parents, students, and others in the community) about the content and implementation of the LWP.
  6. LEAs are required to establish a plan for measuring implementation and to measure periodically and make available to the public an assessment on the implementation of LWP. The assessment must include the extent to which schools are in compliance with LWP, the extent to which the LWP compares to model LWP, and to describe the progress made in attaining goals of LWP.
  7. LEAs are required to establish a plan for measuring implementation of the LWP, including designation of one or more LEA officials or school officials, as appropriate, charged with operational responsibility for ensuring that each school complies with the LWP.