GUIDANCE FOR SCHOOL WELLNESS POLICY
TRIENNIAL ASSESSMENT
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Final Rule: Local School Wellness Policy
Implementation Under the HHFKA of 2010 requires that each local educational agency (LEA)
participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP)
must complete an assessment of their local school wellness policy (LSWP) at least once every
three years. This document assists LEAs with meeting the USDA’s triennial assessment
requirements.
A LSWP is a written document of official policies that guide a LEA’s efforts to establish a school
environment that promotes students’ health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting
healthy eating and physical activity. The LSWP requirement was established by the Child
Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-265), and further strengthened
by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. These laws require LEAs participating in the
NSLP and SBP to develop and implement a LSWP. The responsibility for LSWP development is
at the local level to allow each school district and institution to address their unique needs.
ASSESSMENT REQUIREMENTS
The USDA’s Final Rule: Local School Wellness Policy Implementation Under the HHFKA of
2010 requires LEAs to complete an assessment of their LSWP at least once every three years.
LEAs must complete the first LSWP assessment by
June 30, 2021.
The LEA’s assessment must:
• measure the extent to which the LEA complies with the LSWP;
• describe how the language in the LEA’s LSWP compares to the model wellness policy
(WellSAT 3.0); and
• describe the LEA’s progress toward meeting their LSWP goals.
LEAs must make the triennial assessment results available to the public. The Connecticut State
Department of Education (CSDE) will review this documentation during the next LEA’s
Administrative Review. For additional guidance, visit the CSDE’s Administrative Review for
School Nutrition Programs webpage.
GUIDANCE FOR SCHOOL WELLNESS POLICY
TRIENNIAL ASSESSMENT
REQUIRED STEPS AND RESOURCES
Table 1 summarizes the steps for completing the triennial assessment process. The required
resources are available in the “Monitoring and Evaluation” section of the CSDE’s School
Wellness Policies webpage. These include:
• District’s LSWP and associated local procedures and regulations
• Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT 3.0): www.wellsat.org
• Wellness School Assessment Tool Interview
• Worksheet 1: Written Policy Scores from WellSAT 3.0
• Worksheet 2: Interview Practice Scores from WellSAT-I
• Worksheet 3: Identify Connections between Policy and Practice
• Worksheet 4: Summary of Findings
Table 1. Steps for LSWP triennial assessment
Step 1 Complete the WellSAT 3.0 (page 3)
• Compare LSWP to a model policy.
• Assess compliance of LSWP with federal requirements.
Step 2 Complete the WellSAT-I (page 4)
• Assess compliance of district practices with federal requirements.
• Assess compliance with written LSWP.
•
Step 3 Identify Connections between Policy and Practice (page 5)
• Compare your written policy to your district’s wellness practices
•
Step 4 Summarize and Share Findings (page 6)
• Create summaries of district LSWP assessment.
• Share LSWP assessment with the public.
• Retain all worksheets for your next Administrative Review.
TIME NEEDED
• 1-2 hours depending on the policy’s length and complexity
STAFF NEEDED
• Chair and members of the district wellness committee (contact the superintendent’s
office for a list of wellness committee members)
MATERIALS NEEDED
• District’s LSWP and associated local procedures/regulations
• The WellSAT 3.0
o Online version: WellSAT 3.0 tool
o Print version: Complete the WellSAT 3.0 using the WELLSAT 3.0 PDF version
and Worksheet 1: Written Policy Scores from WellSAT 3.0.
PART A: COMPLETE THE WELLSAT 3.0
Print the
district’s LSWP and associated local
procedures/regulations
. If the district works with the
Connecticut Association for Boards of Education (CABE),
CABE can help identify the district wellness policy. Most
districts post their policies on their website. For tips on how
to find your policy, review the “How to Find Your Policy”
video at www.wellsat.org (under “About the WellSAT”) or at
https://youtu.be/HJZXSltE5SU.
Use the
WellSAT 3.0 tool
to assess the strength and
comprehensiveness of your district’s policy compared to
best practices. The tool can be completed online at
www.wellsat.org. Print out and save your scorecard. It will
Image of a WellSAT 3.0 scorecard
STEP 1: COMPLETE THE WELLSAT 3.0
look like the image to the right. Alternatively, PDF versions
of these tools are available at www.wellsat.org.
PART B: CHECK WRITTEN POLICY FOR COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL
REQUIREMENTS
Check your scorecard for the federal requirements (indicated by the Capitol building
icon ). Highlight any items missing from your written policy (i.e., score of “0”).
TIME NEEDED
• 3-4 hours depending on the number of people interviewed
STAFF NEEDED
• District wellness committee members as interviewers
• Interviewees: Food service director; district-level official; head of curriculum;
health/nutrition education teacher; school principal, physical education teacher;
classroom teacher
MATERIALS NEEDED
• WellSAT-I tool (available under “Using Your Scores” at www.wellsat.org).
• Worksheet 2 Scorecard for the WellSAT-I
PART A: COMPLETE THE WELLSAT-I
1. Print out the WellSAT-I tool and Worksheet 2 Scorecard for the WellSAT-I. Determine who
is best suited to answer each question in your district.
•
All federally required practices
are noted with a Capitol building icon .
•
Items with a school icon
are typically answered
at the school level.
STEP 2: COMPLETE THE WELLSAT-I
•
All other items:
Answer at either the district or school level, based on your district’s
structure.
2. Complete the
WellSAT-I tool
, interviewing the relevant personnel for each item.
• Record your interview scores on the Worksheet 2 Scorecard for WellSAT-I.
PART B: CHECK WHETHER PRACTICES COMPLY WITH FEDERAL
REQUIREMENTS AND YOUR POLICY
1. Check your scorecard for the federal requirements (indicated by the Capitol building
icon ). Highlight any practices that are not currently in place (i.e., score of “0”).
2. Put your WellSAT 3.0 and WellSAT-I scorecards side by side. Highlight any practices that
are written into your policy (i.e., score of 1 or 2), but are not in place in practice (i.e., score
of 0).
TIME NEEDED
• 1-2 hours
STAFF NEEDED
• District wellness committee members
MATERIALS NEEDED
• Completed Worksheet 1: Written Policy Scores from WellSAT 3.0
• Completed Worksheet 2: Interview Practice Scores from WellSAT-I
• Worksheet 3: Identifying Connections between Policy and Practice
STEP 3: IDENTIFY CONNECTIONS
BETWEEN POLICY AND PRACTICE
COMPARE YOUR WELLSAT 3.0 AND WELLSAT-I SCORES
Print out the WellSAT-I tool and Worksheet 2 Scorecard for the WellSAT-I. With the two
scoresheets side by side, go through each section and identify:
• All items that received a
written policy score of 2 and an interview practice score of
2
. These are your district’s
Strong Policies and Aligned Practices
. List items in this
section on Worksheet 2, starting with those that are federally required.
• All items that received a
written policy score of 1 or 2 and an interview practice
score of 0 or 1
. These are items where you need to
Create Practice
Implementation
Plans
. List items in this section on Worksheet 2, starting with those that are federally
required.
• All items that received a
written policy score of 0 or 1 and an interview practice
score of 2
. These items are where your district should
Update Policies
. List items in
this section on Worksheet 2, starting with those that are federally required.
• All items that received a
written policy score of 0 or 1 and an interview practice
score of 0 or 1
. These items represent
Opportunities for Growth
. List items in this
section on Worksheet 2, starting with those that are federally required.
TIME NEEDED
• 1-2 hours
STAFF NEEDED
• District wellness committee members
MATERIALS NEEDED
STEP 4: SUMMARIZE AND SHARE
YOUR FINDINGS
• Completed Worksheet 3: Identifying Connections between Policy and Practice
• Worksheet 4: Summary of Findings
WRITING NARRATIVES TO ACCCOMPANY YOUR SCORESHEETS
• Use Worksheet 4 to write narratives to share the findings from each section of
Worksheet 3: Identifying Connections between Policy and Practice.
MATERIALS TO SHARE
• Post your completed
WellSAT 3.0 scorecard
to document that you have compared your
policy to a model policy. Use either Worksheet 1: Written Policy Scores from WellSAT
3.0 or the scorecard generated by the WellSAT 3.0 website.
• Post
Worksheet 3:
Section 1 (Strong Policies and Aligned Practices)
to document your
district’s areas of strength
along with
the narrative created in Worksheet 4
.
• Post
Worksheet 3: Section 2 (Create Practice Implementation Plans)
to document topics
where your district is not compliant with elements of your LWLP
along with the narrative
created in Worksheet 4
to describe how the district will improve compliance.
• If there are federal requirements in Worksheet 3: Section 3 (Update Policies),
post the
narrative created in Worksheet 4
to describe how the district will update its policy to
include all federally required items. You may add plans for additional policy updates if
desired.
• If there are federal requirements in Worksheet 3: Section 4 (Opportunities for Growth),
post the narrative created in Worksheet 4
to describe how the district will update its
policy and practices to include all federally required items. You may add information
about the LEA’s future wellness goals here.
• Retain all materials from this assessment for a minimum of five years. The district’s
wellness committee can use these materials when revising the LSWP. LEAs must make
all materials available during the next Administrative Review.
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have completed all steps of the Triennial Assessment.
