Student Well-Being

Health Update

By Darcia Harris Bowman — October 03, 2001 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

States Consider Forbidding Snack, Soda Sales

Armed with new data on the increasing level of childhood obesity in the United States, at least a dozen states are taking aim at the lucrative business of selling soft drinks and snacks in public schools.

Across the country, state legislators have introduced bills that would ban or limit the sales of sugary drinks, candy, or fatty snack foods in K-12 schools. Driving the spate of legislation is a wide range of pediatric-health concerns, particularly a sharp increase in obesity.

“We don’t allow kids to smoke in schools, we have zero tolerance for violence in schools, and I believe this falls into the same category,” said Minnesota Rep. Gene P. Pelowski, who has introduced a House bill on behalf of the state’s dentists that would prohibit the sale of soft drinks on school property.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 13 percent of 6- to 11-year-olds and 14 percent of 12- to 19-year-olds are considered overweight, based on a formula that considers age, weight, and height.

Proposals to cut soft drink and snack sales at schools have provoked controversy, however. In some of the states where such legislative efforts are under way, school boards and administrators have mounted strong challenges to protect what has become a valuable revenue source for schools.

The tenor of the debate was particularly fierce in California, where a bill was introduced in this legislative session that would have banned sugary drinks and placed strict nutritional standards on all foods sold in schools. After intense lobbying by groups that included the Association of California School Administrators, the bill was scaled back so that the restrictions are limited to elementary schools and to middle and high schools that volunteer for a 10-school pilot program.

It was a bittersweet victory for some of the education groups that opposed the original bill.

“We’re in a position where the state has said, ‘Hey, we’re not going to give you as much money, so get innovative,’ and that’s what we did, and now we’re being attacked for it,” said Brett McFaddin, a legislative advocate for the administrators’ association. “We know what is being sold to the kids is not the best, but state funding for schools has dropped ... over the last 10 years. At the end of the day, districts are accountable to their constituents, and they must have balanced budgets.”

Minnesota schools raise about $40 million a year through soft drink sales, said Dick Anderson, the executive director of the Minnesota School Boards Association in Saint Peter, which opposes the bill introduced in that state by Rep. Pelowski. “Schools didn’t just dive into this because they said, ‘Look, here’s a lucrative opportunity,’” Mr. Anderson said. “Most of this revenue is turned around and poured back into student activities, which one would think should have been provided by the state legislature. You could make a case that if the legislature mandates schools give up this revenue, they should be refunded for that.”

The National Soft Drink Association rejects any direct link between consumption of such beverages in schools and childhood weight problems. The Washington-based group is keeping an eye on 12 states that are considering some sort of restriction on soft drink sales in schools, including California, Hawaii, Minnesota, Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wisconsin.

“These folks are well-intentioned, but they’re misguided,” said Shawn McBride, a spokesman for the soft drink group. “We have a problem with pediatric obesity and obesity of adults in general, but it’s developed over the last 20 or 30 years, and it’s largely because we are a more sedentary society.”

“I think we’re always looking for a quick fix,” Mr. McBride added, “but soft drinks aren’t the real problem.”

Related Tags:

Events

Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management
Moving the Needle on Attendance: What’s Working NOW
See how family engagement is improving attendance, and how to put it to work in schools.
Content provided by TalkingPoints

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Student Well-Being Inside the Schools Bringing Therapy Directly to Students
K-12 schools can offer services to students despite a mental health specialist shortage.
8 min read
Notes from students expressing support and sharing coping strategies paper a wall, as members of the Miami Arts Studio mental health club raise awareness on World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, 2023, at Miami Arts Studio, a public 6th-12th grade magnet school, in Miami.
Notes from students expressing support and sharing coping strategies paper a wall, as members of the Miami Arts Studio mental health club raise awareness on World Mental Health Day on Oct. 10, 2023, at Miami Arts Studio, a public 6-12 grade magnet school, in Miami.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Student Well-Being Netflix's 'Adolescence' Sparks Debate Over Sex Education in Schools
Sex education, generally ill-equipped to handle subject matter to which teens are exposed, is getting further squeezed.
6 min read
052025 abstinence sex education computer access 476732252
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being What Schools Can Do About Climate Change Right Now
A new report details how schools can adapt for climate change in both small and big ways.
7 min read
Ceiba Phillips, an 11-year-old Eaton Fire evacuee, visits his school gutted by the fire in Altadena, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.
Ceiba Phillips, an 11-year-old Eaton Fire evacuee, visits his school gutted by the fire in Altadena, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. A new report from EdTrust outlines how schools can adapt for climate change, from incorporating the concept into the curriculum, tending to students' climate anxiety, and making climate-resilient facility upgrades.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Student Well-Being Netflix’s ‘Adolescence’ Sounds an Alarm on Troubled Teens. What Can Teachers Do?
The popular Netflix series "Adolescence" raises questions about what schools can do for troubled teens.
6 min read
Illustration of a depressive boy that is sitting and thinking on a window at night (dark blue background)
iStock/Getty