Student and Staff Wellness 5-58.1

School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Regulation 5- 58.1

STUDENTS

Student and Staff Wellness

Virginia Beach City Public Schools, in partnership with families, community organizations, and other local agencies, plays an important role in promoting student wellness. The School Board supports a school environment that encourages and fosters nutritious eating habits and physical activity, both linked to academic success and lifelong good health. Schools are encouraged to work collaboratively with families and the community to improve the quality of health for all students.

1. Nutrition Promotion and Education
   1. Students receive nutrition education that teaches the skills they need to adopt and maintain healthy eating behaviors.
   2. The nutrition education program will provide a basic knowledge of nutrition combined with strategies to promote healthy eating habits. Employees responsible for nutrition education will be prepared and participate in professional development activities to deliver an accurate nutrition education program.
   3. Nutrition education will be integrated into the curriculum where appropriate.
   4. Nutrition education will involve sharing information with families and the broader community to positively impact students and the health of the community with a focus on strategies to improve nutrition.
   5. Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) will provide information to families that encourages them to teach their children about health and nutrition and to provide nutritious meals for their families. The Office of Food Services will provide menus for the federal Child Nutrition meal programs, along with other appropriate nutritional information.
   6. The School Division will participate in the National School Breakfast Program (SBP) and students will be encouraged to start each day with a healthy breakfast.
   7. Schools will encourage participation by students and families in federal Child Nutrition meal programs, such as Summer Food Service and Supper Feeding programs as these become available.
   8. Students receive consistent nutrition messages from all aspects of the school program.
   9. The School Division recognizes water as an essential nutrient and will actively promote free, safe, potable drinking water at every school campus.
   10. As practically possible and to encourage water consumption, students will be allowed to bring and carry their personal water bottles filled exclusively with water.
   11. Staff are also encouraged to model healthy drinking behaviors for students throughout the school day.
2. Nutrition Standards
   1. All schools within the School Division are committed to offering school meals and water through the NSLP (National School Lunch Program) and SBP programs, and other applicable Federal child nutrition programs, that:
      1. Are accessible to all students;
      2. Are appealing and attractive to children;
      3. Are served in clean and pleasant settings;
      4. Meet or exceed current nutrition requirements established by local, state, and federal statutes and regulations.
   2. All foods sold to students during the school day will comply with or exceed the current federal and state regulations. These standards will apply in all locations and through all services where foods and beverages are sold, which may include, but are not limited to, à la carte options in cafeterias, vending machines, school stores and snack or food carts.
   3. The School Board strives to provide an environment conducive to good health by allowing an adequate amount of time and space for students to eat school meals; scheduling lunch periods at reasonable hours around midday and ensuring that drinking fountains are operable, clean, accessible,and convenient for use before, throughout, and after the school day (including in high traffic and common areas, where feasible).
   4. The Office of Food Services will publish the nutritional analysis for all elementary and secondary school breakfasts and lunches consistent with federal and state guidelines.
   5. Qualified nutrition professionals will administer the school meal programs. As part of the responsibility for operating a food service program, the Office of Food Services will continue to provide on-going professional development for nutrition professionals in the schools. Staff development programs should include appropriate certification and/or training programs for Child Nutrition Directors/Supervisors, Cafeteria Managers, and Cafeteria Assistants, according to their levels of responsibility.
   6. Principals should work with parent and community organizations to encourage fundraising activities that do not involve the sale of unhealthy foods. Each school principal, as the fundraiser designee, will approve, track, and monitor all food and beverage fundraisers at the school level.
   7. Each school shall be permitted to conduct, on the school campus during regular school hours, no more than 30 school-sponsored fundraisers per school year, during which food or beverages that do not meet the nutrition standards established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, may be sold. (Virginia Administrative Code 8VAC20-740-40). One fundraiser is defined as one or more fundraising activities that last one school day. If multiple school-sponsored organizations conduct fundraisers on the same day, the combined activities shall be counted as one fundraiser. If a fundraising activity lasts more than one school day, each subsequent day's activity shall be considered as one fundraiser and shall count toward the 30 exempt fundraisers total per year. Any fundraiser that sells food or beverages, whether the items meet the nutrition standards or are exempt from the nutrition standards, must not be conducted during school meal service times. Food or beverage items cannot be sold in competition with the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program from 6 a.m. until after the close of the last breakfast period and from the beginning of the first lunch period to the end of the last lunch period. Food or beverage items sold to students during these times shall accrue to the nonprofit School Nutrition Program account. Each school must retain records to document compliance of its fundraisers for each school year.
   8. School administrators will encourage healthy eating by using non-food items rather than food items such as candy, cakes, soda, and foods high in fat, as incentives and rewards for good behavior or academic performance; and by the offering of healthy snacks, where permitted or offered.
   9. School administrators will encourage parents/families to support the School Division's nutrition education efforts by considering nutritional quality when selecting any snacks which they may donate for occasional class parties.
   10. Schools should limit "celebrations" that involve food during the school day that do not relate directly to the curriculum.
   11. Students should be discouraged from sharing their foods or beverages with one another during meal and/or snack times based on concerns regarding food allergies and other restrictions on some children's diets.
   12. Any foods and beverages marketed or promoted to students on the school campus " during the school day" will meet or exceed the USDA Smart Snacks in School nutrition standards [or, if stronger, "state nutrition standards"], such that only those foods that comply with or exceed those nutrition standards are permitted to be marketed or promoted to students.
3. Physical Activity
   1. Physical education courses will be a primary venue where students learn, practice and are assessed on developmentally appropriate motor skills.
   2. Physical education instructors and physical education teacher assistants, under the direction of the physical education instructor, will teach physical education classes.
   3. Physical education will include implementation of a mandatory fitness plan, movement principles, anatomical basics of movement, energy balance and social development. Students will continue to develop competence in individual activities, modified versions of various/games and outdoor pursuits, to encourage life-long physical activity.
   4. Adequate equipment will be available for all students to participate in physical education.
   5. Each school will provide an environment that encourages safe and enjoyable activity for all students based on individual skills, aptitudes, and interests.
   6. Kindergarten students will be provided forty (40) minutes of daily recess which will be split as follows: fifteen (15) minutes of recess to take place immediately prior to or following Health and Physical Education (HPE) class with the HPE teacher and teacher assistants serving as monitors; and, twenty-five (25) minutes to take place at the opposite time of day from Health and Physical Education class with the kindergarten teacher assistants serving as monitors. School administrators will be granted reasonable discretion in scheduling recess in order to address scheduling, resources, weather and other conditions.
   7. Elementary students in grades 1-5 will be provided thirty (30) minutes of daily recess which will be split as follows: fifteen (15) minutes of recess to take place immediately prior to or following Health and Physical Education (HPE) class with the HPE teacher and teacher assistants serving as monitors; and, fifteen (15) minutes to take place at the opposite time of day from Health and Physical Education class with the grade-level classroom teachers serving as monitors. School administrators will be granted reasonable discretion in scheduling recess in order to address scheduling, resources, weather and other conditions.
   8. Recess may not be withheld as a disciplinary measure per School Division Guidelines.
   9. VBCPS will make available information to families to help them incorporate physical activity into their students' lives.
   10. Schools are encouraged to make available the outdoor physical activity facilities for use by students and families beyond the school day. Access to these facilities is to be provided within the established procedures and guidelines for facility use.
   11. Students are given opportunities for physical activity during the school day through physical education (PE) classes, daily recess periods for elementary school students and the integration of physical activity into the academic curriculum where appropriate.
   12. Students are given opportunities for physical activity through a range of before and/or after-school programs including, but not limited to, intramurals, interscholastic athletics and physical activity clubs.
4. Other Programs to Promote Wellness
   1. VBCPS will encourage families to participate in programs that support healthy eating and physical activity.
   2. VBCPS will continue to support and promote interscholastic athletic programs and intramural activity programs in the secondary schools.
   3. Individual schools will be encouraged to participate in the school-based programs to monitor progress on student wellness.
   4. Where possible, schools should be encouraged to host student-related health clinics, health screenings, and assist with the enrollment of eligible children in Medicaid and other state children's health insurance programs.
   5. Schools will support the health screenings of students by the school nurses for vision, hearing, blood pressure, scoliosis, height, weight, dental, skin integrity, and overall general health, based on state guidelines and requirements and according to local School Division protocol.
   6. Schools provide training to enable staff to promote enjoyable, lifelong physical activity among students.
   7. The Beach Employee Wellness (BEWell) team that focuses on staff wellness issues, will identify and disseminate wellness resources and perform other functions that support staff wellness in coordination with the Consolidated Benefits Office.
5. Monitoring and Evaluation
   1. The School Division will actively inform families and the public each year of basic information about this Policy, including its content, any updates to the policy and implementation status.
   2. At least once every three years, the School Division will evaluate compliance with the wellness policy to assess the implementation of the policy. The School Health Advisory Board (SHAB) will update or modify the wellness policy based on the results of the annual School Health Index or other triennial assessments and/or as School Division priorities change; community needs change; wellness goals are met; new health science, information, and technology emerges; and new federal or state guidance or standards are issued. The wellness policy will be assessed and updated as indicated at least every three years, following the triennial assessment. The updated wellness policy will be communicated through the School Division website.

      As per the Code of Virginia § 22.1-275.1 as amended, the School Health Advisory Board (SHAB) advises the School Board on matters affecting student health. The SHAB is comprised of parents, health professionals, educators and others who are appointed by the School Board. In its annual report to the School Board, the SHAB will include a statement as to the progress of the Wellness Program, while offering further advisement on methods for supporting the program.

Legal Reference

The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. 1758B as amended by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, Public Law 111-296.

Every Child Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301, et seq., as amended.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-16.1, as amended. Board to establish regulation regarding human research.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-207.4, as amended. Nutritional guidelines for competitive foods.

Code of Virginia § 22.1-275.1, as amended. School health advisory board.

Code of Virginia § 32.1-162.16, et seq., as amended. Definitions.

Approved by Superintendent: July 17, 2006
Approved by Superintendent: March 22, 2018
Approved by Superintendent: July 9, 2019
Approved by Superintendent: February 23, 2021
Approved by Superintendent: February 5, 2024
Revised by Superintendent: March 18, 2024