SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) today unveiled publicly for the first time
proposed rules to officially ban junk food and soda in Illinois Elementary and middle schools. The board
will take up the proposed rules change at its December 15th meeting. Last month, Governor Rod R.
Blagojevich asked the nine board members to ban junk food and soda in Illinois elementary and middle
schools. Banning junk food will remove the temptation for young children to replace nutritious meals
with candy, soda, pizza, chips and gum. Research shows that healthier students have higher attendance
rates, better behavior, and superior test scores.
“I applaud the state board for taking this first step toward banning unhealthy snacks and drinks in
elementary and middle schools. We know that better nutrition helps children attend school more
regularly, behave better when they’re in school, and score better on tests. We know all this, and yet in
schools across our state, junk food is available to any child who has the spare change to buy it from a
vending machine,” said the Governor.
Illinois State Board of Education Chairman Jesse Ruiz, ISBE General Counsel Jonathan Furr and Elliot
Regenstein of the Office of Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today outlined the proposed rules changes that
will go before the Illinois State Board of Education next week.
The State Board has the authority under the National School Lunch Program to prohibit elementary and
middle schools throughout Illinois that participate in the program from selling junk food and soda during
the school day. Elementary school students in Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisana, Maryland,
Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia already cannot get junk food in schools
until at least after lunch. And other states have gone even further. Hawaii bans junk food in all schools
all day. Florida bans the sale of junk food in elementary schools all day, and in secondary schools until
after lunch. The Governor’s proposal builds on the work done in these other states.
Existing State Board rules already prohibit the sale of junk food in elementary schools during breakfast
and lunch, but if students snack too much between mealtimes, they may not have appetites for healthy
foods at lunch. The proposed rules would change the rules to prohibit junk food during the entire school
day in elementary and middle schools. The Governor asked the Board to act quickly, so the new rules to
begin in the 2006-2007 school year.
In addition to prohibiting junk food throughout the school day, the proposed rule will also change the
definition of junk food to make it easier to understand. The new definition will move away from a focus
on categories of food, like cookies or candy bars, and focus directly on what’s important – the food’s
nutritional content.
“I believe the State Board will answer Governor Blagojevich’s call to ban junk food in elementary and
middle schools, and we want to make sure that the ban is implemented in a sensible way,” said Board
Chairman Jesse Ruiz. “The State Board will work with health advocates and others to make sure we’re
defining junk food in a way that makes sense and ensures the health of children.”
The average child drinks twice as much soda as milk, according to the Center for Science in the Public
Interest. One quarter of everything adolescents eat is considered junk food according to a study from
Project Lean. In addition, children nationwide are consuming an average 150 to 200 more calories per day
than they did just ten years ago.
Nationally, 15 percent of children ages 5 to 19 are overweight, triple that of 20 years ago. The increased
weight is causing increases in serious medical conditions like Type II diabetes and is setting the stage for
coronary heart disease, stroke or cancer. A study in Arkansas showed that Type II diabetes – a condition
once found almost exclusively in adults – is up 800 percent among children compared to the past decade.
Some schools that have instituted junk food bans are actually making money as a result. Schools in New
York are reaping significant profits – $166 million – under a contract they signed with Snapple to provide
vending machines that offer only water and fruit juices. Los Angeles conducted three pilot programs, each
finding that school vending machines that offered healthy alternatives were just as popular as those that
offered candy bars and soda. At one of the schools – Venice High School – monthly beverage sales
increased by $1,200 after healthy alternatives replaced soft drinks in the vending machines.
Almost two years ago, the Governor and House Minority Leader Tom Cross proposed legislation to
eliminate junk food in all schools. Although the proposal met bipartisan support, some legislators were
concerned about how a ban would impact high schools. High schools are more reliant on vending
machine sales for financial reasons and students have easier access to junk food outside of school hours.
While the Governor still believes having junk food in high schools is wrong, he is sensitive to concerns
raised by education advocacy groups about revenue. The Governor hopes this first step, banning junk
food in elementary schools and middle schools, will build the case for a ban in high schools.
Because many schools depend on bake sales and candy sales to raise extra money, the Governor’s
proposal would ban junk food sales only during the school day, not affecting extracurricular activities.
“We applaud the Governor’s continued effort to protect the children of Illinois. Health statistics and
studies show us that limits on junk food in public schools can be an effective way to do that,” said State
School Superintendent Randy Dunn.
If the State Board takes initial action on the rule in December, the Board will then elicit public comments
about the proposed rule changes. In the early spring, the Board would have the opportunity to take its
final action on the rule, which would then be submitted to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules
(JCAR).
