6.01 Every school district shall convene a Wellness Committee that shall include members from school district governing boards, school administrators, food service personnel, teacher organizations, parents, students, teachers of physical education, school health professionals, and professional groups such as nurses and community members.

6.01.1 Each school district shall develop a health and wellness district plan that identifies the district's Wellness Committee members.

6.02 The Wellness Committee will help raise awareness of the importance of nutrition and physical activity and assist in the development of local policies that address issues and goals, including, but not limited to the following:

6.02.1 Assist with the implementation of nutrition and physical activity standards developed by the Wellness Committee with the approval of DESE and the Arkansas Board of Health;

6.02.2 Integrate nutrition and physical activity into the overall curriculum;

6.02.3 Ensure that professional development for staff includes nutrition and physical activity issues;

6.02.4 Ensure that students receive nutrition education and engage in healthy levels of vigorous physical activity;

6.02.5 Improve the quality of physical education curricula and increased training of physical education teachers;

6.02.6 Enforce existing physical education requirements; and

6.02.7 Pursue contracts that both encourage healthful eating by students and reduce school dependence on profits from the sale of competitive foods.

6.03 Every school district shall begin the implementation of standards developed by the Child Health Advisory Committee with the approval of DESE and the Arkansas Board of Health.

6.04 Every school district shall require that goals and objectives for nutrition and physical activity be incorporated into the annual Health & Wellness School Improvement Plan.

6.05 The Wellness Committee shall be structured in a way as to ensure age-appropriate recommendations that are correlated to the current grade configuration of the school district utilizing one of the following options:

6.05.1 Establish a Wellness Committee at each school in addition to the district committee;

6.05.2 Establish subcommittees of the District Committee, representing the appropriate age and grade configuration for that school district; or

6.05.3 Include representatives from each appropriate grade level group (elementary, middle, junior, and senior high) on the membership of the district committee;

6.06 At a minimum, the Wellness Committee will:

6.06.1 Ensure each school campus incorporates the Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Tobacco Use Health Topics to annually assess the following School Health Index Modules:

#1 -- School Health Policies and Environment;

#2 -- Health Education;

#3 -- Physical Education and other Physical Activity Programs;

#4 -- Nutrition Services;

#10 -- Family Engagement; and

#11 -- Community Involvement.

6.06.2 Compare the physical education and health education assessment from the School Health Index to the standards defined by the DESE Physical Education and Health Curriculum Framework;

6.06.3 Compile the results of the School Health Index and develop goals and objectives that are included in the Health & Wellness School Improvement Plan. By the 2022-2023 school year the following priority areas shall be included in the public school and open-enrollment public charters school's health and wellness plan:

6.06.3.1 Physical and Built Environment

6.06.3.2 Nutrition Standards

6.06.3.3 Physical Education and Activity Standards; and

6.06.3.4 Breastfeeding Education and Practices

6.06.4 Provide the annual completed School Health Index assessment results and the physical activity standards comparison to the principal of each school in the district to be maintained and presented to the local school board;

6.06.5 Review and make written recommendations to the district child nutrition director regarding the district's school meal menus.

6.06.6 Assist the schools in implementing the Arkansas Child Health Advisory Committee recommendations for all foods and beverages sold or served anywhere on the school campus, including all foods and beverages other than those offered as part of reimbursable meals, including a la carte, vending machines, snack bars, fund raisers, school stores, class parties, and other venues that compete with healthy school meals;

6.06.7 Maintain and update annually a written list of recommended locally available, healthier options for food and beverages available for sale to students;

6.06.8 Encourage the use of non-food alternatives for fund-raisers;

6.06.9 Review and make written recommendations to the local school board regarding the components to be included in food and beverage vending contracts; and

6.06.10 Include as part of the district's annual report to parents and the community the amount of funds received and expenditures made from competitive food and beverage contracts.

6.07 No later than the first day of the school year, each LEA shall establish a Local School Wellness Policy for schools under the LEA. The Local School Wellness Policy shall include goals for nutrition, physical activity, and other school-based activities that are designed to promote student wellness.

6.08 DESE and ADH shall report annually on progress in implementing nutrition and physical education standards to the chairs of the House Interim Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Interim Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor, the House Interim Committee on Education, and the Senate Interim Committee on Education.

6.09 The State Board of Education shall submit to the House Interim Committee on Education and the Senate Interim Committee on Education for the committees' review any proposed rules regarding physical education or physical activity standards for grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12).