II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3126 

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to promote 

the health and well-being of schoolchildren in the United States through 

effective local wellness policies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2010 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

Act to promote the health and well-being of schoolchildren in the United States through effective local 

wellness policies, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Local Policies 

5 for Schools Act of 2010’’ or the ‘‘HELP Schools Act of 

6 2010’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) childhood obesity increased threefold among 

2 children and adolescents in the 30 years preceding 

3 the date of enactment of this Act; 

4 (2) about 12,000,000 children and adolescents 

5 ages 2 to 19 are considered obese; 

6 (3) obesity-related diseases cost the United 

7 States economy more than $147,000,000,000 every 

8 year; 

9 (4) both low levels of physical activity and an 

10 increase in caloric intake have contributed to the un11 precedented epidemic of childhood obesity; 

12 (5) overweight adolescents have a 70 to 80 per13 cent chance of becoming overweight adults, increas14 ing the risk for chronic disease, disability, and 

15 death; 

16 (6) children and adolescents are— 

17 (A) not meeting dietary recommendations; 

18 (B) underconsuming important food 

19 groups and nutrients needed for growth and de20 velopment; and 

21 (C) overconsuming saturated fat, trans fat, 

22 sodium, and added sugars; 

23 (7) nutrition education and promotion helps 

24 foster a school environment that— 

25 (A) supports healthy eating; 


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1 (B) helps initiate and sustain healthy eat2 ing behaviors; 

3 (C) increases acceptance and consumption 

4 of healthy school meals; 

5 (D) increases participation in school meal 

6 programs; 

7 (E) enhances school meal quality; and 

8 (F) supports development and implementa9 tion of local wellness policies; 

10 (8) nutrition education and promotion is a crit11 ical component of most major health promotion and 

12 disease prevention programs; 

13 (9) research shows that school-based nutrition 

14 programs and services both improve health and con15 tribute to the academic achievement of school chil16 dren; 

17 (10) research shows that fit children achieve 

18 more academically and have better school attendance 

19 and fewer disciplinary problems; 

20 (11) a comprehensive study of local wellness 

21 policies across the United States found that— 

22 (A) many policies were underdeveloped and 

23 fragmented; and 

24 (B) the vast majority of students were en25 rolled in a school district that did not— 


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1 (i) require evaluation of the imple2 mentation or effectiveness of the wellness 

3 policy of the district; or 

4 (ii) include any provisions for review5 ing and revising the wellness policy; 

6 (12) the same study reported that between 5 

7 and 6 percent of students were enrolled in a school 

8 district that had identified a potential source of 

9 funding to support implementation of the wellness 

10 policy of the district; 

11 (13) the nutrition education and promotion ini12 tiatives for school children in effect as of the date 

13 of enactment of this Act lack coordination, funding, 

14 and sustainability; 

15 (14) the Physical Activity Guidelines for Ameri16 cans of the Department of Health and Human Serv17 ices recommend that children engage in at least 60 

18 minutes of physical activity on most, and preferably 

19 all, days of the week; 

20 (15) children spend many waking hours at 

21 school and therefore need to be active during the 

22 school day to meet the recommendations of the 

23 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans; and 

24 (16) as of the date of enactment of this Act— 


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1 (A) only 3.8 percent of elementary schools, 

2 7.9 percent of middle schools, and 2.1 percent 

3 of high schools provide daily physical education 

4 or the equivalent for the entire school year; and 

5 (B) 22 percent of schools do not require 

6 students to take any physical education at all. 

7 SEC. 3. LOCAL WELLNESS POLICIES. 

8 Section 5 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

9 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1754) is amended to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 5. LOCAL WELLNESS POLICIES. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) EXTENDED SCHOOL DAY.—The term ‘ex14 tended school day’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) the official school day; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the time before and after the official 

17 school day during which events or activities are 

18 primarily under the control of the school or a 

19 third party on behalf of the school. 

20 ‘‘(2) LOCAL WELLNESS POLICY.—The term 

21 ‘local wellness policy’ means a nutrition and physical 

22 activity wellness policy of a local educational agency 

23 established under section 204 of the Child Nutrition 

24 and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 

25 1751 note; Public Law 108–265). 


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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than the first day 

2 of the school year beginning 1 year after the date of enact3 ment of the HELP Schools Act of 2010, each local edu4 cational agency participating in a program authorized by 

5 this Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

6 1771 et seq.) shall strengthen the local school wellness pol7 icy of the local educational agency by ensuring, at a min8 imum, that the policy— 

9 ‘‘(1) includes goals for nutrition promotion and 

10 education, physical education, physical activity, food 

11 marketing and advertising on the school campus, 

12 and other school-based activities designed to promote 

13 participation in child nutrition programs and stu14 dent wellness through the extended school day, in a 

15 manner that the local educational agency determines 

16 to be appropriate; 

17 ‘‘(2) includes an implementation plan to achieve 

18 the goals of the local wellness policy; 

19 ‘‘(3) ensures that guidelines for reimbursable 

20 school meals are not less restrictive than regulations 

21 and guidance issued by the Secretary pursuant to 

22 subsections (a) and (b) of section 10 of the Child 

23 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1779) and sec24 tions 9(f)(1) and 17(a) of this Act, as those regula25 tions and guidance apply to schools; 


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1 ‘‘(4) ensures that nutritional guidelines for 

2 foods and beverages sold in schools that are not part 

3 of reimbursable school meals are in compliance with 

4 the standards established by the Secretary; and 

5 ‘‘(5) includes a plan for measuring implementa6 tion of the local wellness policy, including the des7 ignation of a local wellness policy committee under 

8 subsection (d). 

9 ‘‘(c) TRANSPARENCY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec11 tion, each local educational agency shall make read12 ily available and widely disseminate to relevant 

13 stakeholders— 

14 ‘‘(A) the local wellness policy of the local 

15 education agency, including the implementation 

16 plan described in subsection (b)(5); 

17 ‘‘(B) any assessments of the implementa18 tion of the local wellness policy; 

19 ‘‘(C) any updates to the local wellness pol20 icy; and 

21 ‘‘(D) appropriate local and State contact 

22 information. 

23 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY REQUIREMENT.—Not later 

24 than the first day of the school year following the 

25 date of enactment of the HELP Schools Act of 


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1 2010, each local educational agency shall make read2 ily available the policy and plan described in para3 graph (1)(A). 

4 ‘‘(3) ASSESSMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ASSESSMENT OF IMPLEMENTA6 TION.—Not later than 2 years after the date of 

7 enactment of the HELP Schools Act of 2010, 

8 and every 3 years thereafter, each local edu9 cational agency shall complete and make readily 

10 available the results of an assessment of the im11 plementation of the local wellness policy of the 

12 local educational agency that includes— 

13 ‘‘(i) the extent to which schools under 

14 the jurisdiction of the local educational 

15 agency are in compliance with the local 

16 wellness policy of the agency; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which the local 

18 wellness policy of the local educational 

19 agency compares with model local wellness 

20 policies recommended under subsection 

21 (e)(2)(A)(ii); and 

22 ‘‘(iii)(I) a description of the progress 

23 made in attaining the goals of the local 

24 wellness policy described in subsection (b); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) any revisions to the local 

2 wellness policy to more effectively address 

3 those goals. 

4 ‘‘(d) LOCAL WELLNESS POLICY COMMITTEE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of enactment of the HELP Schools 

7 Act of 2010, each local educational agency shall des8 ignate a standing Local Wellness Policy Committee 

9 (referred to in this subsection as the ‘Committee’). 

10 ‘‘(2) REPRESENTATION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) REQUIRED REPRESENTATIVES.—The 

12 Committee of each local educational agency 

13 shall be comprised of at least 1 representative 

14 from the local educational agency from each of 

15 the following categories of stakeholders: 

16 ‘‘(i) Principals. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Teachers. 

18 ‘‘(iii) Parents of students. 

19 ‘‘(iv) Students. 

20 ‘‘(v) The school food authority. 

21 ‘‘(vi) The school board of the local 

22 educational agency. 

23 ‘‘(vii) The physical education pro24 gram. 


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1 ‘‘(viii) School health professionals, 

2 such as school nurses, school counselors, 

3 social workers, or health education teach4 ers. 

5 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES.—A 

6 Committee may also include a registered dieti7 tian, pediatrician, dentist, a representative of 

8 the local health department, or other represent9 atives of the local community. 

10 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Each local 

11 educational agency shall determine the terms and 

12 conditions under which each member of the Com13 mittee of the local educational agency serves. 

14 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—Duties and responsibilities of 

15 each Committee shall include— 

16 ‘‘(A) ensuring that the local educational 

17 agency served by the Committee meets the re18 quirements described in this section; 

19 ‘‘(B) fostering integration of the local 

20 wellness policy of the local educational agency 

21 with existing coordinated school health pro22 grams, and other health-related activities in the 

23 schools and community served by the local edu24 cational agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) making Committee proceedings and 

2 other pertinent information relating to the ac3 tivities of the Committee readily available. 

4 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND OUTREACH.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta6 tion with the Secretary of Education and the Sec7 retary of Health and Human Services, acting 

8 through the Centers for Disease Control and Preven9 tion, shall assist in the adoption of effective local 

10 wellness policies by local educational agencies in ac11 cordance with this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH.—In carrying out paragraph 

13 (1), the Secretary shall perform outreach to key 

14 State and local stakeholders to promote effective 

15 local wellness policies and provide technical assist16 ance that— 

17 ‘‘(A) includes— 

18 ‘‘(i) a hotline, online resources, and 

19 trainings on designing, implementing, pro20 moting, disseminating, and evaluating local 

21 wellness policies and overcoming barriers 

22 to the adoption of local wellness policies; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(ii) model local wellness policies and 

25 best practices recommended by Federal 


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1 agencies, State agencies, and nongovern2 mental organizations; and 

3 ‘‘(B) is for guidance purposes only and not 

4 binding or otherwise designed to be mandate to 

5 schools, local educational agencies, school food 

6 authorities, or State child nutrition programs. 

7 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On October 1, 2010, 

9 and on each October 1 thereafter through Octo10 ber 1, 2014, out of any funds in the Treasury 

11 not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the 

12 Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary to 

13 carry out this paragraph $1,000,000, to remain 

14 available until expended. 

15 ‘‘(B) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The 

16 Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall ac17 cept, and shall use to carry out this paragraph 

18 the funds transferred under subparagraph (A), 

19 without further appropriation. 

20 ‘‘(f) STUDY AND REPORT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in conjunc22 tion with the Director of the Centers for Disease 

23 Control and Prevention, shall prepare a report on 

24 the implementation, strength, and effectiveness of 


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1 the local wellness policies carried out in accordance 

2 with this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) STUDY OF LOCAL WELLNESS POLICIES.— 

4 The study described in paragraph (1) shall include— 

5 ‘‘(A) an analysis of the strengths and 

6 weaknesses of local wellness policies and how 

7 the policies compare with model local wellness 

8 policies recommended under subsection 

9 (e)(2)(A)(ii); and 

10 ‘‘(B) an assessment of the impact of the 

11 local wellness policies in addressing the require12 ments of subsection (b). 

13 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 

14 2014, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

15 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen16 ate and the Committee on Education and Labor of 

17 the House of Representatives a report that describes 

18 the findings of the study.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. REPEAL. 

20 Section 204 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reau21 thorization Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 1751 note; Public Law 

22 108–265) is repealed. 

23 SEC. 5. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

24 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

25 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 


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1 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

2 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

3 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

4 by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, pro5 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

6 vote on passage. 

Æ 


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