A Recap of the State Board Of Education's
May 2007 Work Session

State Board Could Remove All Full-Calorie Soft Drinks From Schools

By 2008-09, no full-calorie carbonated drinks will be sold in any Alabama school if the state Board of Education adopts guidelines presented by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation at Thursday’s K-12 work session.

The proposed guidelines – which emphasize bottled water, milk and juice – mirror those of the American Beverage Association and Alliance for a Healthy America. The national vending guidelines are to be instituted in the 2009-10 school year. If board-approved, the state’s guidelines would go into effect in 2008-09.

Mark Bain of the Alabama Beverage Association said the state led the nation two years ago when it first passed vending guidelines restricting what beverages could be sold outside the cafeteria. Even after an estimated 7 percent drop in soft drink sales since the first set of restrictions in 2005, Bain and other soft drink industry representatives present Thursday said they support the new guidelines as the right thing to do.

“Alabama’s board was one of the first in the entire country to tackle this issue,” Bain said, “so whether it’s coincidence or not, after the board did what it did in July 2005, it spread like wildfire across this country.”

The more restrictive guidelines would:

• Maintain current standards of only non-carbonated beverages in elementary schools;
• Prevent the sale of any carbonated beverages before high school grades;
• Remove all carbonated beverages from middle schools; and
• Remove all full-calorie soft drinks from high schools.

Also on Thursday, Dr. Mabry Whetstone, SDE special education director, presented an update on proposed changes to state rules that apply to special education – changes that incorporate amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act effective since October 2006. Whetstone said public hearings held throughout the state in April gathered feedback incorporated into the changes. If the board approves, the rule amendments would:

• Change the statute of limitation for requesting an impartial due process hearing from two years to one year;
• Count a half-day or more of suspension as a full day of suspension;
• Require a parent’s written agreement to changes made to a child’s individualized education program if the changes occurred without a meeting of the IEP team;
• Clarify criteria and evaluative components under autism to include autism spectrum disorders; and
• Set a minimum of eight weeks for intervention strategies in the general classroom setting before a child is referred for special education.

The board also heard an update Thursday on the state’s Engineering Academy Initiative set to launch this fall. The pilot program is designed to connect students to engineering careers and is a collaborative effort of the SDE, the Alabama Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Coalition and the engineering colleges at Alabama A&M University, Auburn University, Tuskegee University, the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama-Birmingham, the University of Alabama-Huntsville and the University of South Alabama. Sixteen high schools have been chosen to participate in the project and will receive funds for materials, supplies and other start-up costs.

On June 14, the state board will convene its regular K-12 meeting in Montgomery.

—Denise L. Berkhalter