79R3810 SLO-D
By: Wong H.B. No. 2785
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the health of school-age children.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Many of today's youth suffer from obesity, which
has reached epidemic proportions. There is a much higher
percentage of children who are overweight than there was 20 years
ago, and many children have increasingly sedentary lifestyles.
Moreover, the number one risk factor for adult obesity is obesity in
adolescence. Poor diet and physical inactivity together account
for an estimated 300,000 deaths each year; only tobacco use causes
more preventable deaths. That reality not only threatens quality
of life but indicates looming health care costs for the state in the
future. Studies show that comprehensive prevention programs have
reduced obesity and prevented the onset of diabetes and that
children who are physically fit perform better academically. The
purpose of this Act is to better use schools to address the issue of
obesity and to improve the health and productivity of school-age
children.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 7, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 7.029 to read as follows:
Sec. 7.029. INCENTIVES TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO SCHOOL CAMPUSES
AFTER REGULAR SCHOOL HOURS. (a) The agency shall study incentives
that could be provided to the board of trustees of a school district
to adopt rules under Section 11.165 or to otherwise provide
community access to school campuses after regular school hours for
indoor and outdoor recreational activities. Based on that study,
the agency shall prepare a report recommending incentives.
(b) Not later than November 1, 2006, the agency shall submit
a copy of the report prepared under Subsection (a) to the speaker of
the house of representatives, the lieutenant governor, the
presiding officer of the standing committees in the house and
senate primarily responsible for public education, and each school
district in this state. The agency shall also post the report on
the agency's website.
(c) This section expires December 31, 2006.
SECTION 3. Section 28.004, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d-1) to read as follows:
(d-1) In accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner,
a school district shall report to the agency concerning the
activities of the local school health advisory council.
SECTION 4. Section 28.004(k), Education Code, is
transferred to Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is
redesignated as Section 38.017, Education Code, and is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 38.017. STUDENT HEALTH INFORMATION. (a) [(k)] A
school district shall make available for reasonable public
inspection:
(1) a statement of:
(A) the policies adopted to ensure that students
in elementary grades engage in at least 30 minutes per school day or
135 minutes per school week of physical activity; or
(B) if the district has not adopted the policies
described by Paragraph (A), the date the district anticipates
adopting the policies; and
(2) a statement of:
(A) the number of times during the year the
district's local school health advisory council has met;
(B) whether the district has adopted and enforces
policies to ensure that district campuses comply with applicable
[agency] vending machine and food service guidelines for
restricting student access to vending machines; and
(C) whether the district has adopted and enforces
policies and procedures that prescribe penalties for the use of
tobacco products by students and others on school campuses or at
school-sponsored or school-related activities.
(b) A school district shall include the information
described by Subsection (a) in the district's Public Education
Information Management System (PEIMS) report for the 2006-2007
school year. The agency shall investigate a district that does not
include that information in the district's PEIMS report to ensure
that the district has adopted the policies described by Subsection
(a). This subsection expires September 1, 2008.
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.008. PHYSICAL EDUCATION INSTRUCTION. (a) The
State Board of Education, after consulting with educators, parents,
and medical professionals, by rule shall require a student enrolled
in kindergarten or a grade level below grade seven in an elementary
school setting to participate in daily physical activity as part of
a school district's physical education curriculum or through
structured activity during a school campus's daily recess, except
that the board may not require more than 30 minutes of daily
physical activity. The rules must provide for an exemption for a
student who is unable to participate in daily physical activity
because of illness or disability.
(b) Each student enrolled in a middle school or junior high
school shall participate in a physical education program for at
least one semester per school year as part of the curriculum for the
student's grade level unless the student is unable to participate
because of illness or disability. The State Board of Education
shall adopt rules for a school district to use in determining
whether a student is unable to participate in a physical education
program under this subsection. A student may not substitute
participation in an extracurricular activity that does not include
a physical component for participation in a physical education
program.
(c) The State Board of Education by rule shall ensure that
each student who participates in a physical education program under
Subsection (b) actively engages in the program's activities and
receives individualized instruction to the extent necessary.
(d) A school district shall implement a physical education
program for middle school or junior high school students as
required by Subsection (b) not later than the 2010-2011 school
year. A school district may implement a physical education program
for middle school or junior high school students in the district in
the manner described by Subsections (b) and (c) before the start of
the 2010-2011 school year. This subsection expires September 1,
2011.
SECTION 6. Subchapter A, Chapter 38, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 38.018 to read as follows:
Sec. 38.018. TEXAS FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PILOT PROGRAM. (a)
In this section:
(1) "Department" means the Texas Department of
Agriculture.
(2) "Program" means the Texas Fruit and Vegetable
Pilot Program described by this section.
(b) This section applies only to a middle or junior high
school in a school district selected by the department under
Subsection (c) that:
(1) is located:
(A) in a metropolitan statistical area; and
(B) in a county that is located along the
southern portion of the border between this state and Mexico; or
(2) has an enrollment of at least 80,000 students and
is located in a county that:
(A) has a population of at least 1.4 million
people; and
(B) borders a county that has a population of at
least two million people.
(c) The department shall select two school districts to
participate in the Texas Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program. One
district must meet the criteria specified under Subsection (b)(1)
and the other district must meet the criteria specified under
Subsection (b)(2).
(d) During the 2006-2007 school year, the department shall
implement and make the program available to participating schools.
In implementing the program, the department shall:
(1) provide students in participating schools with
free fresh and dried fruits and fresh vegetables as snacks before,
during, and after school;
(2) attempt to ensure that the fruits and vegetables
distributed in participating schools are Texas-grown produce; and
(3) allow participating schools flexibility in
determining what fruits and vegetables to offer.
(e) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the
program after completion of the program. In evaluating the
program, the department shall consider at participating schools:
(1) the nutritional knowledge and attitudes of
students;
(2) any improvement in student alertness in class;
(3) any improvement in student academic performance;
and
(4) any decrease in the average number of student
absences because of physical illness.
(f) Not later than January 1, 2009, the department shall
prepare and deliver to each member of the legislature a report based
on the evaluation conducted by the department under Subsection (e).
(g) The department may adopt rules as necessary to implement
this section.
(h) This section expires September 1, 2009.
SECTION 7. Section 42.152(c-1), Education Code, as added by
Chapters 253 and 783, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2003, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), funds allocated under
this section may be used to fund:
(1) in proportion to the percentage of students served
by the program that meet the criteria in Section 29.081(d) or (g):
(A) [(1)] an accelerated reading instruction
program under Section 28.006(g); or
(B) [(2)] a program for treatment of students who
have dyslexia or a related disorder as required by Section 38.003;
[.]
(2) a district's mentoring services program under
Section 29.089, as added by Chapter 783, Acts of the 78th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2003; or
(3) the operation of a district's school buses for the
purpose of transporting students to and from after-school
activities.
SECTION 8. Section 42.155(h), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(h) Funds allotted under this section must be used in
providing transportation services and may be used in providing
transportation services for students to and from after-school
activities.
SECTION 9. Section 28.002(l), Education Code, is repealed.
SECTION 10. Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
Act applies beginning with the 2005-2006 school year.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.