Fullerton Joint Union High School District*

State Senate Bill 19, partly amended by the California Childhood Obesity Prevention Act, authorized school districts to establish a Child Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee to help coordinate functions and activities that address students' obesity problems. Response: The Fullerton Joint Union High School District has a Health Education Curriculum Committee and a Physical Education Curriculum Committee already established. Both of these committees address issues of nutrition and healthy lifestyle, including students' obesity problems.

All food and beverages prepared by school food services in Orange County schools, or supplied under contract by outside vendors and served on the school campuses, are regulated by Federal and State requirements. Response: The Fullerton Joint Union High School District complies with Federal and State requirements for the procurement of food and beverages offered on all campuses.

A study in Poway has shown that the greatest improvement in the physical fitness of students occurred when the physical education program was supervised by the Physical Education Specialist. Response: The Fullerton Joint Union High School District provides a district-coordinated Physical Education Program that provides one class period per day of instruction with a certificated physical education teacher to all students in grades 9 through 10. Students receive instruction that is aligned with the California Content Standards in Physical Education. In addition, a wide variety of physical education elective courses are offered on a daily basis for students in grades 11 and 12. The physical education curriculum is overseen by the District Physical Education Curriculum Committee which is comprised of an administrative liaison and the physical education department chairs from each of the comprehensive high schools. All curriculum committee activities are coordinated by the Assistant Superintendent of Education and Assessment Services.

Various government grants are available to the schools to help finance and improve the schools' nutrition and physical education programs. Response: The District actively researches and applies for grant funds that may provide opportunities to enhance the learning environments for students. District funds have been utilized to provide professional development for health education and physical education teachers in developing District content standards aligned to State standards, integrating reading and writing into the health education and physical education curriculums, water safety training, and first aid and CPR certification. One of the District's high schools, Fullerton Union High School, received a Golden Bell Award from the California Schools Boards Association recognizing the physical education program for its extensive scope and quality.

Most school districts, faced with budgetary cuts and greater priority on higher academic standards, have gradually decreased their emphasis on physical education. Response: The Fullerton Joint Union High School District has not decreased its emphasis on physical education. In fact, greater emphasis has been placed on providing professional development for health education and physical education teachers in order to develop and implement State and District Content Standards in Health Education and Physical Education.

Food items provided by the schools' food services are not labeled with their caloric values and nutritional composition; nor is such information posted in the food- serving area. Response: It is important to note that half of the food served in the District is commercially packaged and already contains nutritional information on the package. The District's Food Services Department does not have the manpower, software, or hardware to develop food labels on the 6,500 meals dispensed each day. However, the District Food Services Department will explore possible ways of labeling and/or posting caloric values and nutritional composition of the meals served each day.

Body Mass Index in not fully utilized as an assessment tool by schools' nutrition and physical education programs, but is used as appropriate by school nurses for clinical purposes. Response: The Fullerton Joint Union High School District has consistently used the Body Composition Test for students in grade 9 as part of the California State Mandated Fitnessgram Test. The results are always presented to and discussed with the students. Parents are mailed the results accompanied by a letter with descriptive comments.