The DC Healthy Schools Act was passed in May 2010 in order to improve the health of students in the District of Columbia.
The bill was introduced by Councilwoman Mary M. Cheh, passed unanimously and signed into law by Mayor Adrian Fenty.
[3] A major reason for the implementation of the DC healthy schools act is due to a lack of action at the federal level.
Due to differences in political philosophy as well as the influence of the food lobby, there have not been any major laws passed that significantly effect change on this issue.
In addition, it has been found that black and Hispanic children spend more time watching TV or playing video games, which also means they are exposed to more ads for unhealthy foods Unfortunately, this same population is the same that does the worst on standardized test results, and therefore is most targeted by No Child Left Behind.
A common response to this has been to “narrow the curriculum”, which means that many subjects, such as physical education, become superfluous, replaced by extra classes for mathematics and English.
In addition to combating obesity or poor nutrition, the other impetus for this act is that there has been research that links physical activity and cognitive functioning.