A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT directing the state board of education to update statewide nutrition standards for food and beverages available in public elementary, middle and high schools, as recommended by the legislative task force on childhood obesity.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 115C‑264.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115C‑264.3.  Child Nutrition Program standards.
(a)	The State Board of Education, in direct consultation with a cross section of local directors of child nutrition services, shall establish statewide nutrition standards that meet recognized national standards adopted by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation or the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine by December 2010. The statewide nutrition standards apply to all of the following:
(1)	School meals.
(2)	A la carte foods and beverages.
(3)	Items served in the After School Snack Program administered by the Department of Public Instruction and child nutrition programs of local school administrative units.
(4)	All other candy, snack, food, and beverage items sold or offered to students on school property during the instructional day, except for items offered to students as part of a school or birthday celebration.
The statewide nutrition standards shall be implemented in elementary schools by the end of the 2011‑2012 school year, in middle schools by the end of the 2012‑2013 school year, and in high schools by the end of the 2013‑2014 school year.
(b)	Beginning with the 2013‑2014 school year, and every three years thereafter, the State Board of Education shall review and, as necessary, update statewide nutrition standards to align with nationally recognized nutrition standards. The State Board of Education shall also update nutrition standards as frequently as necessary to align with changes to federal law or the Dietary Guidelines for Americans published by the United States Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture.
(c)	The State Board of Education shall make available free of charge to the general public on its Internet Web site educational information about statewide nutrition standards and a system for reporting possible inconsistencies in the implementation of statewide nutrition standards."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.