Legislature(2015 - 2016)CAPITOL 106
03/30/2015 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB130 | |
| HB156 | |
| HB163 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 130 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 156 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 163 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 163-NUTRITION STANDARDS; SCHOOL FUNDRAISERS
9:32:37 AM
CHAIR KELLER announced that the final order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 163, "An Act relating to school fundraisers;
relating to the duties of the Department of Health and Social
Services; and providing for an effective date."
9:33:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TAMMY WILSON, Alaska State Legislature,
paraphrased the sponsor statement as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Imagine it is your child's birthday and you spend tile
evening baking cupcakes to share with their class.
After hours of baking and decorating you carefully
wrap your snack ready for the next day's activities.
The next morning you head out with your excited
birthday child and walk proudly into the school with
your treat. To your dismay you are told that the time
honored tradition of homemade treats has now come
under federal attack. The Federal Smart Snacks
standards outline in Healthy, Hunger-Free kids Act of
2010 requires all food during the school day to meet
national nutrition standards. Your child is
devastated!
Having overstepped its regulatory authority, the USDA
has proposed a sweeping plan that would regulate the
types of foods and beverages that can be marketed on
school property. The resulting laws put the Department
of Agriculture in the business of determining the
amount of calories, fat and sodium students should
consume in a given school day. I would like to just
repeat--the Department of Agriculture. The agriculture
secretary is now telling schools the type of milk,
vegetables and grain that cannot be served in
cafeterias. The law places greater federal control
over weliness [sic] policies best left in the hands of
state and local leaders.
The Federal standards will severely cut into the
thousands of dollars schools raise to support school
programs and activities. Currently, all Alaskan school
fundraisers for PTAs, student groups, and sport teams
are now limited to selling carrot sticks and rice
cakes to generate revenue. Parents who wish to
contribute homemade items for school events must now
review their family recipes to ensure federal
compliance to nutritional standards. Forcing parents
and school organizations to only offer federally
approved food and snacks at fundraisers is a perfect
example of federal overreach and intrusion into the
time honored tradition of the [sic] school bake sale.
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA),
requires that all food sold outside of the school meal
programs, on the school campus and at any time during
the school day must meet national nutrition standards.
The "Smart Snacks" standards allows State governments
flexibility for special exemptions for the purpose of
conducting infrequent school-sponsored fundraisers
during which foods that do not meet the nutrition
standards for Smart Snacks may be sold. State agencies
may determine the frequency with which fundraising
activities take place that allow the sale of food and
beverage items that do not meet the nutrition
standards, Alaska is one of 29 states that currently
do not have a policy under the Smart Snacks standards.
As a result, the state of Alaska has defaulted to zero
exempt fundraisers. Thus, all school fundraisers in
Alaska must meet the strict nutrition standards as set
by the federal government.
It is the purpose of HB 163 is to require the
Department of Education and Early Development to adopt
regulations authorizing schools to approve fundraisers
involving the sale of foods that do not meet the food
nutrition standards.
Thank you for your support of HB 163.
9:38:57 AM
CHAIR KELLER requested an explanation of the title wherein there
is the suggestion of the elimination of the terminology relating
to the duties of the Department of Health & Social Services
(DHSS). He questioned whether DHSS has no duties under this
code.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON responded it was an error by Legislative
Legal and Research Services and since the bill is before the
committee, any other changes could happen at this time. This
has nothing to do with the DHSS as it all falls under the
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED).
9:39:59 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ asked whether the proposed change has any
effect on school funding from the federal government.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON advised that as the bill is currently
written, the regulations are for infrequent fundraisers and it
would have no impact. In the event the bill is changed to allow
the districts to have as many as they prefer, she opined that it
could impact how the monies come in from the federal programs.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ surmised that the frequency is not
explicitly set forth in the bill but the sponsor expects DEED to
issue implementing regulations.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON explained that DEED would determine the
definition of infrequent for the districts and would set the
policy, and she opined there would be reporting regarding a
fundraiser not meeting the requirements of a Healthy Snack [42
U.S.C. 1179]
9:41:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS asked Representative Wilson
whether she has a sense as to why the Department of Education &
Early Development (DEED) has not adopted regulations this bill
addresses.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON responded she is unsure why DEED has not
adopted regulations, but she did receive an email indicating
that DEED is looking into it.
9:41:57 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ asked whether there is a letter from the
U.S. Department of Education stating this would not jeopardize
school funding if the regulations set forth constitute
infrequent.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON answered that it is part of the entire
policy as it does give a variance allowing DEED to write
regulations only for "infrequent." This bill directs DEED to
follow through, although it could do that on its own if it so
chose, and because they haven't no fundraisers with unhealthy
snacks can proceed, she explained.
9:42:49 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TALERICO surmised, with regard to the title, the
sponsor would prefer to delete the Department of Health and
Social Services (DHSS) and insert the Department of Education
and Early Development (DEED) on page 1, line 2.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON responded it could be accomplished either
way, such as removing "; relating to the duties of the
Department of Health and Social Services;" as it is related to
fundraisers, or insert Department of Education and Early
Development as either would include the intent.
9:43:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ referred to AS 14.07.020(a)(18), Sec. 1,
page 3, lines 27-29, which read:
(18) adopt regulations authorizing schools to
approve fundraisers involving the sale of foods that
do not meet food the nutrition standards under 42
U.S.C. 1779. [REPEALED]
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ asked where guidance is located wherein
infrequent use of this exception will not cause trouble for
Alaska with regard to federal funding. She requested a document
that actually offers guidance that Alaska will not jeopardize
federal funding.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON responded she will provide the terminology
(in her hand) that came directly from the U.S.C Code and
stipulated "we did not make any of this up ... what being
infrequent versus frequent. This is actually in their law for
the healthy snack 2010, that was passed, and we can make sure
that each member has the actual rule which is right here that
says that 'they have to be infrequent.'" She reiterated that
the sponsor's intent when sending the bill to Legislative Legal
and Research Services "was to make it so they could continue to
do them as they have been doing, and we were told by Legislative
Legal and Research Services that could not be done and had to be
infrequent if we wanted to stay within the federal guidelines."
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ asked Representative Wilson to distribute
the document to the committee members.
CHAIR KELLER pointed to the zero fiscal note, and noted a
comment that the U.S. Department of Education has the
regulations on this particular topic on the waiver.
9:45:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ commented that since DEED has not issued
proper regulations to implement this, she questioned whether
there should be another provision requiring DEED to implement
this provision appropriately.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON advised that this bill requires DEED to
write the regulation and implement it, and referred to "(18)
adopt regulations authorizing schools to approve fundraisers
involving the sale of foods that do not meet the food nutrition
standards under 42 U.S.C. 1779." She advised that once DEED
adopts the regulations and it becomes enacted, the districts
will again be able to hold fundraisers through whatever
procedure DEED determines. She opined a form is filled out
depicting who is holding the fundraiser, what is being sold,
what would count against them, and every state has been
different.
CHAIR KELLER pointed out that the driver is AS 14.07.020(a),
Sec. 1, page 1, line 5, which read:
(a) The department shall
9:47:08 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ suggested including a time provision.
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON replied that "anything that gets them
moving works for me." She referred to Sec. 2, page 3, line 30,
which read:
Sec. 2. This Act takes effect immediately under
AS 01.10.070(c).
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON opined that it may be effective
immediately but they haven't prepared them quickly. She said
she is amenable to "an amendment that just says specifically on
a time limit ... (indisc.) past a certain date so at least for
this next school year, they would be able to do this." She
pointed out that that this is ironic in that a student is
allowed to bring whatever they prefer in their lunch, and are
allowed to bring items to a birthday party, and to say during
the lunch hour, when most fundraisers happen, "that we're going
to become so unhealthy because of that, parents have control
whether they give children money, whatsoever." She said school
can, and she wasn't sure this was the way to go, offer their
fundraisers in the morning or directly after school. She said,
"We're not stopping anything here but I think to pretend the
federal government needs to go into every aspect of our school
is really what is kind of appalling about this particular one."
She noted that "infrequent" is not currently in the law saying
whether it is 10, 20, 30, 40, as it has been left up to the
department to determine what that is.
CHAIR KELLER opened public testimony.
9:49:10 AM
BARBARA HANEY testified in wholehearted support of HB 163 and
said fundraisers are critical for sports teams, especially
during a time of tight fiscal concerns as these fundraisers are
absolutely important. She urged a fast track on the bill to
allow schools to raise the necessary funds, and said the U.S.
Department of Education has gone out of its way to regulate what
snacks are sold at schools. She opined this is far beyond the
10th Amendment. She advised that students train for years, get
to this point, and can't go [to the event] because there are no
funds due to the state having no money and, yet, they can't have
a fundraiser due to the federal government.
9:50:36 AM
PATRICE LEE expressed her confusion as to why the federal
government would be blamed for Alaska not having a better
process for snacks in schools as that is certainly the state's
option and added that other states have done it. She also
expressed concern that the items sold at fundraisers have no
quality control. For example, she noted, she once opened a
package of "goodies" to be sold at a school fundraiser and it
had either dog or rat hair in it and pointed out that when the
public sells at a Farmer's Market, they must go through a
particular process to ascertain their product is safe. She
suggest that [standard] should stand for birthday parties and
other events especially if schools are going to have large scale
fundraisers where items are brought from home and sold during
the day at school. She noted that, as a teacher, they cannot
control how much sugar goes into students as not all snacks are
sugars, but certainly many are. She remarked she has seen
fundraisers going on, as she is in and out of schools all the
time in Fairbanks, and is confused as to why there is some talk
about it not being allowed as it doesn't seem to be hindered at
lunch time. Lastly, she expressed, the more the school depends
upon fundraisers, or having a fundraiser for "this or that," it
takes the appropriate budgeting off the hook for supporting
education. She asked whether there will be fundraisers for bus
fare to school, and stated her greatest concern is quality
control measure at fundraisers, and she is not sure where that
would be in this bill. She pointed out the possibility of a
student eating something, getting sick, and the school is
blamed. She asked the committee to perform its due diligence in
this bill.
CHAIR KELLER closed public testimony after ascertaining no one
further wished to testify.
9:54:28 AM
REPRESENTATIVE WILSON addressed a concern in that she does not
believe an organization can have a fundraiser within the school
without permission, and discuss the name of the entity holding
the fundraiser, where the funds will go, and the list of items
being sold, as more and more restrictions have been set upon
these types of events throughout the year. She explained that
this bill addresses a new federal regulation enacted that now
includes more rules. She expressed her frustration in that it
will add more to school districts because rather than saying
"you can use your best ... you know, knowledge about what you
need in your districts, we're not going to tell you what
infrequent is. And then I'll guarantee you because its
government there is going to be more paperwork that is going to
be spent on this versus in classroom and to the educational
portion of it." She opined it is important, during these times,
to allow these organizations to raise their own funds, otherwise
there could potentially be less band participation, less
football teams because "there is very little bit of funding that
comes through the state" for the extracurricular activities
which adds to the school day.
9:56:21 AM
MIKE HANLEY, Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner,
Department of Education and Early Development (DEED), [Available
to answer questions.]
9:56:55 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked whether the Department of Education
and Early Development (DEED) is currently adopting regulations
or whether there are difficulties with this bill from DEED's
standpoint.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded that this doesn't require
regulations as the state agencies are given the authority to
provide those waivers and are in the process of moving forward.
He advised that approximately one month ago he had an
opportunity to provide the Alaska Association of School Boards
(AASB) with the regulations from the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), around the smart snack language and
requested their input as to what kind of frequency is needed.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON pointed to the committee packet which
included a USDA, April 17, [2014] letter from Child Nutrition
Programs indicating it could not be left up to local educational
agencies (LEAs) or to school food authorities (SFAs) and asked
whether he was misinterpreting Commissioner Hanley's comments.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY replied that the state education agencies
(SEAs) have been given the authority to work with the local
education authorities (LEAs,) but the locals are not allowed to
set their own policies individually and must work through the
SEA. He advised he is setting parameters based upon the
requirements of these federal laws and the needs of Alaska's
local school districts.
9:59:14 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON requested clarification as to whether the
law requires that a state agency must set an upper limit on the
number of fundraisers allowed, not through regulation but rather
another recognized process.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY replied "that is correct." He advised he
shared a USDA document with the AASB yesterday, and will provide
the document to the committee, which includes a succinct and
clear understanding of what that is, what other states have
done, the amount of waivers they've given, and how long they can
go.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON indicated the committee would like to see
the document.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ surmised that the bottom line, with
regard to his testimony, is that the department does not need to
adopt regulations to implement this provision within the
proposed bill.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY answered "that is correct." He said he was
unaware this bill was coming forward or he could have shared the
fact that he worked with the department's child nutrition
services division and has had the information based upon a
conversation with people in Ketchikan. He commented that a
regulation is not necessary to "do this as per the federal
outlines," as the SEAs are given the authority to create
waivers.
10:01:14 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ requested Commissioner Hanley cite the
federal provision he is relying upon.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY advised he will provide it.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ pointed to the committee packet and the
Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 38, Department of Agriculture,
Food and Nutrition Service, 7 C.F.R. Parts 210 and 220 "Local
School Wellness Policy Implementation Under the Healthy, Hunger-
Free Kids Act of 2010," and stated those are proposed rules and
asked what are the final rules.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY explained that the document he will provide
includes the federal regulatory reference. Ultimately, he
explained, [the department] is moving in the same direction of
recognizing federal law that has come down based upon schools
participating in the school luncheon breakfast program, and the
ability for the department to give waivers for those particular
situations based upon local decisions. He opined, should this
bill pass it will be slower going than if he goes forward and
does it on his own as putting a regulation in place requires
going to the Alaska Board of Education in September, as it meets
quarterly, then going out for a public comment period in
September, and being voted on and adopted in December. He
indicated that when he spoke with Alaska Association of School
Boards (AASB) yesterday that something could be in place by next
year, at the end of this school year.
10:03:24 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ requested the final federal regulations,
as the proposed regulations are dated February 26, 2014. She
requested confirmation that October will be the Alaska State
Board of Education's face-to-face quarterly meeting.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY advised it has a three day retreat in June,
as the Alaska State Board of Education has quarterly meetings,
and also additional meetings.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY, in response to Representative Vazquez,
advised the next meeting is in June.
10:04:18 AM
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND expressed confusion that if the
department is already writing regulations based upon comments it
has heard through the communities and the fact that passing this
bill would slow down that process, she does not understand why
the bill is being considered.
CHAIR KELLER advised that the bill is being considered because
the committee just received that information and will leave that
discussion between DEED and the sponsor which will determine the
committee's next steps.
10:04:46 AM
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ asked for clarification as to whether
Commissioner Hanley is stating that DEED is actually writing
regulations at this point in time.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY responded "No, that is not what I
testified," and advised he testified to the fact that USDA
allows SEAs to set up statewide waivers to the federal law and
that is being undertaken now.
CHAIR KELLER clarified that a waiver is not necessarily a
regulation as it can be a memo.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ asked whether the statewide waivers will
be in a memo format, or what format.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY advised he has not determined the exact
format, but will have a format that goes directly to USDA so it
knows where Alaska stands as well as to all school districts.
He noted that a memo appears to be an appropriate format but he
has not yet made that determination.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ questioned why regulations were not
considered.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY advised he is not an advocate for adding
regulations where they are not needed and this was a straight-
forward opportunity for the department to provide needed
exemptions for local school districts without going through that
process. Yet, he opined, a positive thing about regulations is
the built in public comment period and with a lack of that, he
chose to work directly with the school boards to get the
public's input.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ quiered when the waivers would be issued,
and whether it is district-by-district or a statewide waiver.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY expressed his goal for a statewide waiver as
opposed to individual waivers. He gave the school boards
approximately one month and will send it to the head of the AASB
so there is clarity around specific deadline dates. He thought
he may have something by the end of May, or the end of the
school year.
REPRESENTATIVE VAZQUEZ surmised Commissioner Hanley will start
receiving feedback from the school boards.
COMMISSIONER HANLEY replied "yes, I'm going that ... I'm going
to ask them to submit it to the head of their organization and
they can bring it all together.
CHAIR KELLER announced HB 163 is held in committee.
10:08:26 AM
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CSHB130.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 130 |
| CSHB130 Draft Proposed W.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 130 |
| HB0130 version A.PDF |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 130 |
| HB130 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 130 |
| HB130 Fiscal Note - HB130-DOT-EDC-3-3-15.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 130 |
| HB130 Supporting Document - Letter Steve Rollins.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 130 |
| HB130 Supporting Document - Letter Dr. Rosita Worl.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 130 |
| HB130 Supporting Document - Kashevaroff background.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 130 |
| HB 163 ver A.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 163 |
| HB163 Sponsor Statement 3-25-15.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 163 |
| HB163 Fiscal Note EED-CN-3-26-14.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 163 |
| HB 163 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 163 |
| HB 163 Supporting Documents - Smart Snacks State Agency Fundraising Exemptions.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 163 |
| HB 163 Supporting Documents - Smart Snacks Nutrition Standards and Exempt Fundraisers.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 163 |
| HB 163 Supporting Documents - Smart Snacks in School _ USDA All Foods Sold in Schools Standards.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM |
HB 163 |
| CSHB156 Workdraft I.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 4/13/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/14/2016 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| CSHB156Fiscal Note.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 4/13/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/14/2016 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB156A.PDF |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 4/13/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/14/2016 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB156 Sponsor Statment.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 4/13/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/14/2016 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB156 FY 16 proposed ed budget.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/14/2016 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB156 FED LAW REVISE.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 4/13/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/14/2016 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |
| HB156 Ed Week stories.pdf |
HEDC 3/30/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 4/13/2015 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/14/2016 8:00:00 AM |
HB 156 |