AASA Supports House Bill to Reauthorize Child Nutrition Act
Today, AASA sent the following statement to support the House bill to reauthorize the child nutrition act.
AASA, The School
Superintendents Association, is pleased to support the Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016 (H.R. 5003).
Providing healthy meals and snack options for school children is critical.
AASAs’ members are proud of their strong nutrition programs and are looking for
a reauthorization that provides districts with increased flexibility from
certain elements of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. The nutrition study, as
prescribed in this bill, takes the politics out of the standards and keeps the
focus where it belongs: on what is best for our nation’s schools and students.
David R. Schuler, AASA
president and superintendent of High School District 214 in Arlington Heights,
Ill, and Daniel A. Domenech, AASA executive director, issued the following
statements:
“I strive to serve my
students nutritious meals, but the current nutrition standards, as written, are
so burdensome that I had to withdraw from the federal nutrition program and
find other ways to feed my students. The flexibilities allowed and the changes
that may come through this bill will provide some much-needed relief to
districts around the country struggling to balance the needs of their students
and the regulations from DC.” – David R. Schuler
AASA has deep concerns
over the changes to the Community Eligibility Provision eligibility threshold
and the increase in verification of free and reduced price lunch eligibility.
“This bill is a step
in the right direction and we look forward to working with the committee to
make further improvements to the legislation. We are pleased to see the
continued investment in school meals and focus on supporting schools and
districts over politics, and hope to work with the committee to pass a bill we
can continue to support.” – Daniel A. Domenech