House Bill 2816
The Legislature also finds that the State of West Virginia must take an informed, sensitive approach to communicate and educate the citizens of the state about health issues related to obesity and inappropriate weight gain. The Legislature further finds that the state must take action to assist West Virginia citizens in engaging in healthful eating and regular physical activity. The Legislature further finds that the state must invest in research that improves understanding of inappropriate weight gain and obesity. These efforts are needed to coordinate the state's interest in improving the health of its citizens and in reducing the cost of health care. Therefore, it is the purpose of this article to create, as an integral part of the Department of Health and Human Resources, an entity to coordinate the efforts of all agencies to prevent and remedy obesity and related weight problems and to ensure that all citizens are being educated on this serious health risk that is affecting the state.
§5-1E-2. Creation of the Office of Healthy Lifestyles.
There is hereby created the Office of Healthy Lifestyles within the
Department of Health and Human Resources. The management of this office
shall be provided in the manner determined by the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Resources to be in the best interest of
the state and its citizens.
§5-1E-3. Powers and duties of the Office.
The Office of Healthy Lifestyles shall:
(1) Establish a Healthy Lifestyle Coalition to assure consistency of the
public health and private sector approach to dealing with programs that
address the problems that affect overweight and obese individuals; to
provide a forum for discussing the issues that affect healthy lifestyles
and to identify best practices that can be replicated. By the first day
of July, two thousand five, the Governor shall appoint thirteen members
of the Coalition whose terms shall be for a period of four years, and
the members may be reappointed to a second term. The terms may be
staggered by the Governor to assure continuity of experience on the
coalition. Members shall represent state agencies, community
organizations and other entities which have an interest and expertise in
obesity. Members may not be compensated but shall receive reimbursement
for expenses incurred while performing the business of the coalition.
The Coalition shall meet monthly for at least the first eighteen months
of the Coalition to develop and implement an action plan to meet the
goals established by the Coalition;
(2) Establish a clinical advisory committee to assure a unified approach
using the latest research to assure consistency in program development;
(3) Establish a statewide voluntary private sector partnership and
recognition program for employers, merchants, restaurants and other
private sector businesses to encourage the development or further
advance current programs that encourage healthy lifestyles;
(4) Coordinate higher education training programs for dietary and
exercise physiology students with rural health care providers;
(5) Coordinate existing health promotion initiatives to assure clear,
concise and consistent communication;
(6) Solicit, accept and expend grants, gifts, bequests, donations and
other funds from any source for programs that will enable the state to
accomplish the goals of this program;
(7) Develop a cross-agency series of goals to ensure consistency
throughout the system of providers and agencies working in the area of
improving lifestyles;
(8) Establish as a goal to increase the prevalence of healthy weight
among all people in the state because obesity leads to diabetes, heart
disease, strokes and kidney failure. These diseases, often arising in
older age as a result of unhealthy lifestyles that began during a
person's youth, place an undue financial burden on individuals, the
health care industry and state health care programs;
(9) Consider the resources of the local health departments and recommend
ongoing relationships, as appropriate, between local health departments,
family resource networks, faith-based organizations, cooperative
extension services, farm bureaus and other health care providers;
(10) Encourage the development of incentives for participation in
employee wellness programs. Incentives may be based upon, but should not
be limited to, the employee's completion of health questionnaires or
participating in healthy lifestyles initiatives, and may use experiences
of successful initiatives that have occurred in this state. The action
plan should include among its targets, state government employees in
this incentive program;
(11) Build upon existing initiatives that focus on any of the
coalition's goals, soliciting input from these initiatives and
eliminating duplication of efforts;
(12) Report its progress annually by the first of December to the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resource
Accountability.
§5-1E-4. Partnership to encourage healthy lifestyles by children and families.
(a) The West Virginia Healthy Lifestyles program will develop a
statewide voluntary private sector partnership program to work with
businesses throughout the State that encourage and promote healthy
lifestyles among their employees and communities.
(b) Beginning the first day of July, two thousand five, those businesses
voluntarily choosing to participate in the Healthy Lifestyles program
shall submit their own detailed programs to the Office of Healthy
Lifestyles for review. The programs should be creative and unique,
highlighting the efforts of the business to promote healthy lifestyles
to West Virginians through sensible diet and physical fitness.
(c) The West Virginia Healthy Lifestyles program will develop a
recognition program for private sector enterprises that develop or
advance programs that address the problems affecting overweight and
obese individuals and that promote a healthy lifestyle.
(d) Any business program promoting healthy lifestyles that is recognized
by the Office of Healthy Lifestyles will be issued a universally
recognized logo, suitable for public display by the business.
(e) Marketing of programs recognized by the Office of Healthy Lifestyles
shall take place through all state agencies. The West Virginia Public
Employees Insurance Agency, the Bureau for Medical Services and the West
Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission shall aggressively market this
program to their members for the purposes of health promotion among
their members.
(f) The Office of Healthy Lifestyles shall market recognized programs to
other businesses, as models, to help create additional programs
promoting healthy lifestyles.
(g) The Office of Healthy Lifestyles shall report annually by the first
day of December to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and
Human Resources Accountability: (1) The number of participants; (2) the
impact on businesses as established by a survey of participating
businesses; and (3) the results of consumer satisfaction surveys all
designed by the Office of Healthy Lifestyles.
§5-1E-5. Creation of a Healthy Lifestyles Fund.
There is hereby created in the State Treasury a separate special revenue
account, which shall be an interest bearing account, to be known as the
"Healthy Lifestyles Fund". The special revenue account shall
consist of all appropriations made by the Legislature, income from the
investment of moneys held in the special revenue account and all other
sums available for deposit to the special revenue account from any
source, public or private. No expenditures for purposes of this section
are authorized from collections except in accordance with the provisions
of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon fulfillment of
the provisions set forth in article two, chapter eleven-b of this code.
Any balance remaining in the special revenue account at the end of any
state fiscal year does not revert to the general revenue fund but
remains in the special revenue account and shall be used solely in a
manner consistent with this article. No expenses incurred under this
section shall be a charge against the general funds of the state.
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-6a. Sale of healthy beverages and soft drinks in
schools.
(a) In order to generate funding for necessary programs and supplies,
county boards may permit the sale of healthy beverages and soft drinks
in county schools except during breakfast and lunch periods as follows:
(1) During a school day, soft drinks may not be sold in areas accessible
to students in an elementary school, middle school or junior high school
through vending machines on the premises, in school stores or in school
canteens or through fund raisers by students, teachers, groups or by any
other means. In elementary, middle school or junior high school, only
healthy beverages may be sold in vending machines on the premises, in
school canteens or through fundraisers by students, teachers, groups or
by any other means. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
prohibit or limit sale or distribution of any food or beverage item
through fund-raising activities of students, teachers or educational
groups when the items are intended for sale off the school grounds. (2)
Those high schools which permit the sale of soft drinks through vending
machines also shall offer for sale healthy beverages. Of the total
beverages offered for sale, at least fifty percent shall be healthy
beverages. Vending machines containing healthy beverages shall be in the
same location or substantially similar location as vending machines
containing soft drinks.
(3) The sale of healthy beverages and soft drinks shall be in compliance
with the rules of the National School Lunch Program and the School
Breakfast Program of the State Board and the Nutrition Service of the
United States Department of Agriculture, which became effective on the
seventeenth day of June, one thousand nine hundred eighty-five.
Seventy-five percent of the profits from the sale of healthy beverages
and soft drinks shall be allocated by a majority vote of the faculty
senate of each school and twenty-five percent of the profits from the
sale of healthy beverages and soft drinks shall be allocated to the
purchase of necessary supplies by the principal of the school.
(b) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "School day" means the period of time between the arrival
of the first student at the school building and the end of the last
instructional period; and
(2) "Healthy beverage" means water, one hundred percent fruit
and vegetable juice, low-fat milk and other juice beverages with a
minimum of twenty percent real juice.
§18-2-7a. Legislative findings; required physical education; program in physical fitness.
(a) The
Legislature hereby finds that obesity is a problem of epidemic
proportions in this state. There is increasing evidence that all
segments of the population, beginning with children, are becoming more
sedentary, more overweight, and more likely to develop health risks and
diseases including Type II Diabetes, high blood cholesterol and high
blood pressure. The Legislature further finds that the promotion of
physical activity during the school day for school children is a crucial
step in combating this growing epidemic and in changing the attitudes
and behavior of the residents of this state toward health promoting
physical activity.
(b) As a result of these findings, the State Department of Education
shall establish the requirement that each child enrolled in the public
schools of this state actively participates in physical education
classes during the school year to the level of his or her ability as
follows:
(1) Kindergarten to and including grade five. -- Not less than thirty
minutes of physical education, including physical exercise and age
appropriate physical activities, for not less than three days a week.
(2) Grade six to and including grade eight. -- Not less than one full
period of physical education, including physical exercise and age
appropriate physical activities, each school day of one semester of the
school year.
(3) Grade nine to and including grade twelve. -- Not less than one full
course credit of physical education, including physical exercise and age
appropriate physical activities which shall be required for graduation
and the opportunity to enroll in an elective lifetime physical education
course.
(c) Enrollment in physical education classes and activities required by
the provisions of this section shall not exceed, and shall be consistent
with, state guidelines for enrollment in all other subjects and classes:
Provided, That schools which do not currently have the number of
certified physical education teachers or required physical setting may
develop alternate programs that will enable current staff and physical
settings to be used to meet the physical education requirements
established herein. These alternate programs shall be submitted to the
State Department of Education and the Healthy Lifestyle Council for
approval. Those schools needing to develop alternate programs shall not
be required to implement this program until the school year commencing
two thousand six.
(d) The State Board shall prescribe a program within the existing health
and physical education program which incorporates fitness testing,
reporting, recognition, fitness events and incentive programs which
requires the participation in grades four through eight and the required
high school course. The program shall be selected from nationally
accepted fitness testing programs designed for school-aged children that
test cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance,
flexibility and body composition:
Provided, That nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit
the use of programs designed under the auspices of the President's
Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. The program shall include
modified tests for exceptional students. Each school in the state shall
participate in National Physical Fitness and Sports Month in May of each
year and shall make every effort to involve the community it serves in
the related events.
(e) Body mass index measures shall be used as an indicator of progress
toward promoting healthy lifestyles among school-aged children. The body
mass index measures shall be determined using student height and weight
data and reported to the State Department of Education via the West
Virginia Education Information System. Body mass index measures shall be
included in kindergarten screening procedures. Students in grades four
through eight and students enrolled in high school physical education
courses shall have their body mass index measured through required
fitness testing procedures. All school personnel responsible for
conducting and reporting body mass index measures shall receive training
or written documentation on the appropriate methodology for assessing
the body mass index and reporting data in a manner that protects student
confidentiality. All body mass index data shall be reported in aggregate
to the Governor, the State Board of Education, the Healthy Lifestyles
Coalition and the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human
Resource Accountability.
§18-2-9. Required courses of instruction; violation and penalty.
(a) In all public, private, parochial and denominational schools
located within this state there shall be given prior to the completion
of the eighth grade at least one year of instruction in the history of
the state of West Virginia. The schools shall require regular courses of
instruction by the completion of the twelfth grade in the history of the
United States, in civics, in the constitution of the United States, and
in the government of the state of West Virginia for the purpose of
teaching, fostering and perpetuating the ideals, principles and spirit
of political and economic democracy in America and increasing the
knowledge of the organization and machinery of the government of the
United States and of the state of West Virginia. The State Board shall,
with the advice of the State Superintendent, prescribe the courses of
study covering these subjects for the public schools. It shall be the
duty of the officials or boards having authority over the respective
private, parochial and denominational schools to prescribe courses of
study for the schools under their control and supervision similar to
those required for the public schools. To further such study, every high
school student eligible by age for voter registration shall be afforded
the opportunity to register to vote pursuant to section twenty-two,
article two, chapter three of this code.
(b) The State Board
shall cause to be taught in all of the public schools of this state the
subject of health education, including instruction in any of the grades
six through twelve as considered appropriate by the county board, on (1)
the prevention, transmission and spread of acquired immune deficiency
syndrome and other sexually transmitted diseases, (2) substance abuse,
including the nature of alcoholic drinks and narcotics, tobacco
products, and other potentially harmful drugs, with special instruction
as to their effect upon the human system and upon society in general and
(3) the importance of healthy eating and physical activity to
maintaining healthy weight. The course curriculum requirements and
materials for the instruction shall be adopted by the State Board by
rule in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Resources.
The State Board shall prescribe a standardized health education
assessment to be administered within health education classes to measure
student health knowledge and program effectiveness.
An opportunity shall be afforded to the parent or guardian of a child
subject to instruction in the prevention, transmission and spread of
acquired immune deficiency syndrome and other sexually transmitted
diseases to examine the course curriculum requirements and materials to
be used in the instruction. The parent or guardian may exempt the child
from participation in the instruction by giving notice to that effect in
writing to the school principal.
(c) Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty
of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
exceeding ten dollars for each violation, and each week during which
there is a violation shall constitute a separate offense. If the person
so convicted occupy a position in connection with the public schools,
that person shall automatically be removed from that position and shall
be ineligible for reappointment to that or a similar position for the
period of one year.