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National School Boards Association Opposes Federal Regulations at Hearing (Again)
By Deborah Lehmann —
You’d think school boards would be one of the biggest supporters when it comes to promoting student health. Think again. The National School Boards Association made another appearance before Congress today to speak against federal regulation of foods sold in schools.
In March, Reginald Felton, director of federal legislation for the association, told the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry that national standards for school snacks and a la carte items would “result in several unintended consequences that will require the redirection of additional time and resources away from the school’s primary responsibilities.”
Today, in a hearing before the House subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities (part of the Committee on Education and Labor), Felton repeated his spiel. Nutrition standards that restrict food and beverage sales, he said, “could substantially reduce revenues that local schools need to support athletic programs and other activities that promote the overall development and well-being of all students.”
It says something truly dismal about the state of our education system when schools rely on junk food sales for funding. School may be strapped for cash, but that’s no excuse for operating educational and athletic programs at the expense of student health.
May 15th, 2009 at 10:17 am
I encountered this attitude over and over in trying to work with my child’s school district food service, not to mention a state liaison who said that because the school met minimum standards, it was therefore a star school. SInce when is “just enough” equal to excellence?
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:05 am
Perhaps it would be possible to reduce dependence on Coke/Pepsico if athletic programs moved away from activities that need big capital expenditures (football, hockey, etc.) to ones where the costs are minimal (soccer). Orienteering is competitive; it only requires a topo map and a compass.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Is this the same NASBE that recently sent out a policy update, recommending that schools follow the IOM standards for foods sold in schools? I am confused. I could have sworn I read a document, created by NASBE, that said they were in support of schools’ use of the IOM standards to determine what foods would be available for sale on campus. Wow, I am really disappointed that they have apparently changed their minds.
July 25th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
NASBE is the National Association of State Boards of Education and represents the state board of education, setting K12 policy in a state and overseeing the state education agency. NSBA is the National School Boards Association and represents local school district/division boards. They are not the same organizations and Natalie Rogers is correct that NASBE issued such a document.