Some Schools Start ‘Dieting’ Ahead of U.S. Rules

If students in the Austin, Texas, school district get the munchies, they won’t find high-fat chips or calorie-laden sodas in their campus vending machines. On rainy days, elementary school pupils might do calisthenics in their classrooms while practicing their spelling. And after school, parents can occasionally hear from federal officials brought in to discuss how to keep children from gaining too much weight.

Administrators in the district have been working on health and nutrition efforts for the past two years, and school districts across the country will soon have to do the same. The reauthorized Child Nutrition Act, signed into law by President Bush last year, requires all districts to put local wellness plans in place by the start of the 2006-07 school year. ( "Bush Signs School Lunch Reauthorization," July 14, 2004.)

Though the law spells out some aspects of what must be included in the wellness programs, the details are still up in the air, and districts are waiting for guidance from the Department of Agriculture, said Brenda Z. Greene, the director of school health programs for the National School Boards Association,...