Number
170086
Version
SUBSTITUTE 3
Reference
Sponsor
ALD. ZIELINSKI, STAMPER, LEWIS, JOHNSON AND RAINEY
Title
Substitute resolution relating to nutrition guidelines at City-authorized charter schools.
Analysis
This resolution directs the Charter School Review Committee to study the feasibility, cost and effectiveness of developing and implementing nutrition and meal service guidelines for City-authorized charter schools so as to reduce the risk of lead absorption and potentially improve the academic and cognitive performance and overall health for children attending City-authorized charter schools. The Charter School Review Committee shall report its findings to the Common Council within 120 days.
Body
Whereas, Lead exposure presents a significant risk to children’s health and safety when lead is absorbed into the body; and
Whereas, The most common source of lead poisoning in children is lead-based paint hazards, which pose a risk to children in approximately 130,000 housing units in the city; and
Whereas, Approximately 70,000 properties in the city have lead service lines and are likely to also have lead plumbing or fixtures, which may also contribute to a risk of lead exposure; and
Whereas, According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), children with full stomachs absorb less lead into the body than children with empty stomachs, and consuming key nutrients, including iron, calcium and vitamin C, can help to reduce lead absorption; and
Whereas, Student participation in the USDA School Breakfast Program is associated with better cognitive performance (brain function), improved academic grades and standardized test scores, and reduced absenteeism (see Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion); and
Whereas, Healthy eating can provide micronutrients that support immune function, help children achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, and reduce the risk of developing health problems including dental cavities, iron deficiency, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis; and
Whereas, A significant proportion of children attending City-authorized charter schools eat school-provided meals, including breakfast, lunch and after-school snacks; and
Whereas, According to the USDA and DPI, offering free school breakfasts and after-school meals and snacks to all students reduces the stigma associated with qualifying for and receiving free meals, which in turn increases the likelihood that a child will accept and consume a school-provided meal (meal “participation”); and
Whereas, According to the USDA and DPI, alternative serving models, including serving breakfast in the classroom or “on the go” in high-traffic locations, can increase breakfast participation; and
Whereas, By leveraging the nutrition content of school meals, and by serving school meals in a manner that increases meal participation, City-authorized charter schools could help to mitigate their students’ risk of lead absorption and potentially improve students’ academic and cognitive performance and overall health; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the Charter School Review Committee (CSRC) shall study the feasibility, cost and effectiveness of developing and implementing meal nutrition and service guidelines for City-authorized charter schools with the goal of reducing the risk of children’s lead absorption and potentially improving students’ academic and cognitive performance and overall health; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the CSRC shall consider the following guidelines requiring:
1. Each City-authorized charter school to provide a free breakfast to all of the school’s enrolled pupils if, in the prior school year, seventy percent or more of the pupils of that school met the income eligibility standard for free or reduced-price lunch in the federal school lunch program under 42 U.S. Code § 1758(b) or the school meets USDA Community Eligibility Provision requirements.
2. A City-authorized charter school that provides a free breakfast to all of the school’s enrolled pupils to offer and serve breakfast after the start of the school day as follows:
a) An elementary school shall offer breakfast in the classroom each day.
b) A middle or high school shall offer alternative serving models, such as breakfast in the classroom or grab-and-go carts, in one or more locations with high student traffic, other than the cafeteria, each day to increase breakfast participation.
c) These requirements shall not apply to a school in which the school’s current breakfast participation rate exceeds seventy-five percent of the school’s average daily lunch participation rate.
3. City-authorized charter schools to participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Afterschool Meals program, if eligible, or an equivalent program.
4. City-authorized charter schools to ensure that school meal menus provide pupils access to nutrients that support immune function, help children achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, and reduce the risk of developing health problems, and to key nutrients that mitigate lead absorption, specifically vitamin C, iron and calcium.
5. The CSRC to annually examine the school meal menus of City-authorized charter schools to ensure that menus provide pupils access to nutrients that support immune function, help children achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, and reduce the risk of developing health problems, and to key nutrients that mitigate lead absorption, specifically vitamin C, iron and calcium.
6. The CSRC to collect data and report annually to the Common Council concerning which City-authorized charter schools participate in the:
a) CACFP Afterschool Meals program or equivalent program and, if so, the number of children served snacks or suppers on an average daily basis at each school.
b) USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program or equivalent program and, if so, the number of children served snacks under the program on an average daily basis at each school.
c) USDA Summer Food Service Program or equivalent program and, if so, the number of breakfasts, lunches, suppers and snacks served on an average daily basis during the preceding summer for each school.
d) National School Breakfast Program and, if so, the schools’ breakfast service model and the number of children served breakfast under the program on an average daily basis.
7. The CSRC to provide annual reports to the Common Council on nutrition in City-authorized charter schools.
; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the CSRC shall report its findings on the feasibility, cost and effectiveness of developing and implementing the proposed guidelines to the Common Council within 120 days after this resolution is adopted.
Requestor
Drafter
LRB168291-4
Dana J. Zelazny
May 24, 2017