507.9 - Wellness Policy

The Janesville Consolidated School District Board of Education is committed to the optimal development of every student. The board believes for students to have the opportunity to achieve personal, academic, developmental, and social success, there needs to be a positive, safe, and health-promoting learning environment at every level, in every setting.

The school district provides a comprehensive learning environment for developing and practicing lifelong wellness behaviors. The entire school environment, not just the classroom, shall be aligned with healthy school district goals to positively influence a student's understanding, beliefs and habits as they relate to good nutrition and regular physical activity. In accordance with law and this belief, the board commits to the following:

The school district will identify at least one goal in each of the following areas:

Nutrition Education and Promotion: Schools will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that helps students develop lifelong healthy eating behaviors. (See Appendix A)

Physical Activity: Schools will provide students with age and grade appropriate opportunities to engage in physical activity that meet the Iowa Healthy Kids Act. (See Appendix B)

Other School Based Activities that Promote Wellness: As appropriate, schools will support students, staff, and parents’ efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle. (See Appendix C)

The following nutritional guidelines for food available on school campuses will be adhered to:

Meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program will be appealing and meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by state and federal law;
Schools providing access to healthy foods outside the reimbursable meal programs before school, during school and thirty minutes after school shall meet the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Smart Snacks in Schools nutrition standards, at a minimum. This includes such items as those sold through a la carte lines, vending machines, student run stores, and fundraising activities;
Snacks provided to students during the school day without charge (e.g., class parties) will meet standards set by the district in accordance law. The district will provide parents a list of foods and beverages that meet nutrition standards for classroom snacks and celebrations; and
Schools will only allow marketing and advertising of foods and beverages that meet the Smart Snacks in school nutritional standards on campus during the school day.

The superintendent or superintendent’s designee shall implement and ensure compliance with the policy by:

Reviewing the policy at least every three years and recommending updates as appropriate for board approval;
Implementing a process for permitting parents, students, representatives of the school food authority, teachers of physical education, school health professionals, the school board, administrators and the public to participate in the development, implementation, and periodic review and update of the policy;
Making the policy and updated assessment of the implementation available to the public (e.g., posting on the website, newsletters, etc). This information shall include the extent to which the schools are in compliance with policy and a description of the progress being made in attaining the goals of the policy; and
Developing administrative regulations, which shall include specific wellness goals and indicators for measurement of progress consistent with law and district policy. © IASB POLICY REFERENCE MANUAL Code No. 507.12

NOTE: This is a mandatory policy.

NOTE: The Iowa Department of Education has tools and resources available to help districts with progress reports and other aspects of policy implementation and review. Please visit the “School Wellness Policy” section of the Iowa Department of Education’s website, located at: https://www.educateiowa.gov/pk-12/nutritionprograms/school-wellness.

NOTE: School districts are required by federal law to have at least one wellness goal in each of the goal areas identified in paragraph three of the sample policy. These goal areas include the following: nutrition promotion and education, physical activity, and other school-based activities that promote student wellness. School districts should select goals to include in the regulation (507.9R1) from the options provided in the sample regulation (507.9R1) or identify a district specific goal. Districts must remember the sample policy and sample regulation cannot be adopted in the current format.

Legal Reference: 42 U.S.C. §§ 1751 et seq. 42 U.S.C. §§ 1771 et seq.
Iowa Code §§ 256.7(29); 256.11(6). 281 I.A.C. 12.5; 58.11.

Cross Reference: 504.5 Student Fund Raising; 504.6 Student Activity Program; 710 School Food Services

Approved: 02/11/2020
Reviewed: 11/15/21
Revised: 02/11/2020

dawn.gibson.cm… Mon, 12/11/2023 - 10:02

507.9A - Nutrition Education and Promotion - Appendix A

The school district will provide nutrition education and engage in nutrition promotion that:

Is offered at grade level 5-12 to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to promote and protect their health;
Is part of not only health education classes 5-12, but also classroom instruction in subjects such as math, science, language arts, social studies, and elective subjects;
Promotes fruits, vegetables, whole-grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products, healthy food preparation methods and health-enhancing nutrition practices;
Emphasizes caloric balance between food intake and physical activity
Is held for one week in the fall and one week in the spring focusing on nutrition for grade levels K-4, and tailoring it to their way of understanding

dawn.gibson.cm… Mon, 12/11/2023 - 10:05

507.9B - Physical Activity - Appendix B

Physical Education

Janesville Consolidated School District will provide physical education that:

Is for all students in grades K-12 for the entire school year;
Is taught by a certified physical education teacher;
Includes students with disabilities and special health-care needs, providing proper differentiation of instruction; and,
Engages students in moderate to vigorous activity during at least 50 percent of physical education class time

Daily Recess

Elementary school will provide recess for students that:

Is at least 20 minutes per day;
Is preferably outdoors;
Encourages moderate to vigorous physical activity verbally and through the provision of space and equipment; and,
Discourages extended periods of inactivity.

When activities, such as mandatory school-wide testing, make it necessary for students to remain indoors for long periods of time, the teachers should give students periodic breaks during which they are encouraged to stand and be moderately active.

Physical Activity and Punishment

Employees should not use physical activity (e.g., running laps, pushups) or withhold opportunities for physical activity (e.g., recess, physical education) as punishment.

dawn.gibson.cm… Mon, 12/11/2023 - 10:06

507.9C - Other School-Based Activities that Promote Student Wellness - Appendix C

Integrating physical activity into the classroom setting

For students to receive the nationally recommended amount of daily physical activity and for students to fully embrace regular physical activity as a personal behavior, students need opportunities for physical activity beyond the physical education class. Toward that end, the school district will:

Offer classroom health education that complements physical education by reinforcing the knowledge and self-management skills needed to maintain a physically active lifestyle and to reduce time spent on sedentary activities;
Discourage sedentary activities, such as watching television, playing computer games, extended use of phones, etc.;
Provide opportunities for physical activity to be incorporated into other subject lessons; and classes, as well as brain breaks to help increase attentiveness;
Inform students of all extracurricular activities, as well as activities available in the community to them after and before school.

dawn.gibson.cm… Mon, 12/11/2023 - 10:06

507.9D - Nutrition Guidelines for All Foods Available on Campus - Appendix D

School Meals

Meals served through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs will:

be appealing and attractive to children;
be served in clean and pleasant settings;
meet, at a minimum, nutrition requirements established by state and federal law:
offer a variety of fruits and vegetables, legumes and whole grains;
serve only low-fat (1%) and fat-free milk and nutritionally equivalent non-dairy alternatives (as defined by the USDA);

Breakfast

To ensure that all children have breakfast, either at home or at school, in order to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their ability to learn, schools will:

operate the breakfast program, to the extent possible;

Free and Reduced-Priced Meals

The school district 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 meals. Toward this end, the school district may:

utilize electronic identification and payment systems;
provide meals at no charge to all children, regardless of income; and,
promote the availability of meals to all students.

Food Safety

All foods made available on campus adhere to food safety and security guidelines.

All foods made available on campus comply with the state and local food safety and sanitation regulations. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans and guidelines are implemented to prevent food illness in schools. http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Resources/servingsafe_chapter6.pdf
For the safety and security of the food and facility, access to the food service operations are limited to child nutrition staff and authorized personnel.

dawn.gibson.cm… Mon, 12/11/2023 - 10:07

507.9E - Plan for Measuring Implementation - Appendix E

Monitoring

The superintendent will ensure compliance with established school district-wide nutrition and physical activity wellness policies.

JCSD:

food service staff, at the school or school district level, will ensure compliance with nutrition policies within food service areas and will report on this matter to the superintendent.
will report on the most recent USDA School Meals Initiative (SMI) review findings and any resulting changes. If the school district has not received a SMI review from the state agency within the past five years, the school district will request from the state agency that a SMI review be scheduled as soon as possible;
will have the superintendent develop a summary report every three years on school district-wide compliance with the school district’s established nutrition and physical activity wellness policies, based on input from schools within the school district; and,
will provide a report to the school board and also distributed to all school wellness committees, parent/teacher organizations, principals and health services personnel in the school district.

Policy Review

Monitoring of the Wellness Goal will be continued yearly. As part of that review, the school district will review the nutrition and physical activity policies and practices and the provision of an environment that supports healthy eating and physical activity. The school district, and individual schools within the school district will, revise the wellness policies and develop work plans to facilitate their implementation.

dawn.gibson.cm… Mon, 12/11/2023 - 10:08