TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOL NUTRITION POLICY
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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May a principal serve brownies to the students during lunch in the cafeteria?
 No
May an elementary principal reward those students who passed the TAKS or
received perfect attendance with a pizza party in the classroom during lunch?
 No. Not unless it is one of your designated exempt days.
May a grade level visiting from another school receive fudge bars as a treat?
 No
May a campus sell pickles during the last class period before school is released?
 No. Organizations are only allowed to sell foods for consumption after
the school day has ended.
May a librarian reward children who read a lot of books with Capri suns, cookies,
etc.?
 No
May athletics be rewarded with a special lunch in the gym instead of coming to
the cafeteria for lunch?
 Yes, but at the high school level only.
May an elementary principal hand out cookies to special classes during lunch?
 No. No competitive foods may be made available to the students during
the school day.
May a high school have pizza parties during lunch in the classroom?
 Yes.
May Pizza Hut deliver pizzas to classrooms at the junior high level during lunch?
 No. No competitive foods are allowed 30 minutes before or after a
scheduled meal service.
May an elementary class celebrate Cinco de Mayo with special foods?
 Yes. As long as the food provided is for instructional purposes.
May a teacher use candy and FMNV for instructional purposes?
 No.
May a principal offer snacks for TAKS testing?
 Yes. One nutritious snack is allowed for the test date. The snack must
comply with the nutritional guidelines for fat, sugar and size limitations.
May a parent cook hamburgers and hot dogs for staff and then serve (not sell) it to
a class?
 No. Not at the elementary level during the day. Only after or before
lunch at the junior high level. Only where reimbursable meals are not sold
at the high school.
May an organization sell candy bars as a fund raiser?
 Only if the fund raiser is combined with other items for sale.
May the PTO provide donuts and juice to the entire elementary during school
hours?
 No. If the PTO wants to accept free donuts, they would need to serve
them to the students after school is over, during a special Math night type
event or serve them during one of the exempt days on the school calendar.
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May CiCi’s pizza award a class a pizza party at the elementary school?
 No. Not during school hours. See above. The school may opt to serve
the pizza party through the school lunch line with other additional sides
and run the event through the food service department.
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May junior highs have parties in the classroom before lunch?
 No. Not unless the parties are birthday parties.
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Is it ok for high school students to sell healthy slushies during lunch?
 No. Alvin ISD Wellness Policy prohibits the sale of outside foods at all
campuses during the school day..
May an elementary school conduct a “fact frenzy” award meal during the day?
 Only if it is a reimbursable meal and is conducted through the department.
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May an elementary school give a PK school a tour of their building and then give
all the PK -3 graders and ice cream afterwards?
 No. An ice cream is not considered a healthy snack. There is a provision
for a teacher to have a healthy snack so a healthy snack would be ok. (This
does not include cookies, cakes, pudding, ice cream or frozen desserts).
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May the Girl Scouts hand out treats to kids in the classroom at the elementary
level during school?
 Since a teacher is able to distribute a healthy snack daily in her classroom,
if the Girl Scouts wish to provide this healthy snack and it meets the
healthy snack guidelines, it is OK.
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Is it necessary to follow nutritional guidelines for field trips?
 No. As long as the field trip is off campus (not on the playground etc.),
guidelines do not need to be followed.
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Is it ok to reward high school students with ice cream?
 Yes. Just be sure that it is an allowable size. (4 ounces and not in the
cafeteria during meal services)
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May an elementary school reward kids with ice cream as long as it is within the
guidelines for size etc?
 No. The policy does not allow competitive foods to be offered during the
school day at the elementary level. When the policy states foods provided
by food service is not considered competitive, it means as part of the food
meal service. To get around this, a principal MAY buy distribute “free”
tickets to the students and they can receive their “free” allowable ice
cream treat during meal service. Only healthy snacks are allowed outside
of meal service.
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What types of snacks are allowed at the high school during TAKS testing?
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During TAKS test days, the additional snack per day for students taking the TAKS
test must comply with the portion and nutrient guidelines chart of the TPSNP,
and may not contain any FMNV or consist of candy, chips or dessert type items.
TDA has produced, posted on the squaremeals.org Web site and widely
distributed its brochure, "Suggestions for Nutritious Snacks," but it is not
intended to be a comprehensive list. TDA has not specified what qualifies as a
nutritious snack other than that it must meet the Nutrition Standards specified in
the TPSNP. Generally, a snack would be considered nutritious if it is less than 200
calories, is less than 30 percent fat, is high in protein and is high in vitamins and
minerals.
BEVERAGES
Fruit juices
Fruit smoothies
Milk (non-fat or low fat, plain or flavored)
LOW FAT GRAIN FOODS
Pretzels
Animal crackers
Graham crackers
Wheat crackers
English muffin (whole wheat)
Rice cakes or mini rice cakes (flavored)
Baked tortilla chips with salsa
Fruit or grain muffin (low fat)
Dry cereal (individual servings)
Bagel (half)
Fig bars
Vanilla wafers
FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Fresh seasonal fruit
Carrots, broccoli and cauliflower
with low fat dip or salad dressing
ADDITIONAL TREATS
Fruit snacks
Fruit pico
Fruit grain bars
Frozen fruit bars
Fat-free popcorn (94% fat-free)
Peanut butter and crackers
Low fat string cheese
Fruit, nut and/or grain trail mixes
Corn-on-the-cob with paprika or chili powder
I am at a Junior High and I want to implement Donuts for Dads and Muffins for
Moms BEFORE school starts. Can I?
You can, but the event would have to END 30 minutes before school starts OR
just be available for adults only. In that case it could be done at any time. If you
want it to be for students and adults before school, be sure you have your event
end 30 minutes before breakfast starts AND you follow all the guidelines for the
item such as no more than 30 percent of calories from fat, 10$ from saturated fat,
sugar no more than 10 grams per ounce, no fried foods. The serving size may not
be more than 3 ounces.
I am at an elementary school and it the last day of class. Many of my teachers are
going to have a pizza party to celebrate. Is that ok?
o No. Pizza parties are not allowed for any reason under TPSNP.
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I am at the Junior High level and my PTO has volunteered to buy a lunch from an
outside vendor for the entire student body. Is it ok that I do not have lunch
service for a day?
o Yes. It is ok not to offer lunch for a day. But, you still would have to
follow the TPSNP guidelines. If they want to offer this meal it would
have to be within the portion requirements, nutrition requirements, etc.
No fried foods etc. At the junior high level it would also have to be
offered 30 minutes after lunch is over.
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I am at an elementary and I would like to know if it is ok to offer my students
lunches other than cafeteria lunches if we are having a DAY LONG
CELEBRATION outside on the school grounds. This is not one of my designated
three days and it is only for one grade.
No. As long as you are on school grounds the rules of TPSNP apply. If all of the
students happened to have a sack lunch then it would be ok, but no other food
may be brought in from the outside to supplement the lunches.
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Is it ok for a 5th grade Math teacher to celebrate math scores by buying
McDonald’s for her whole class during lunch?
No. No competitive foods may be offered to students during lunch at the
elementary level.
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I am a junior high principal and I want to sell items outside of meal service to
raise money. May I?
If you want to sell items during the school day the sale must end 30 minutes
before meal service and not begin until 30 minutes after meal service. If they are
sold during the day they must be compliant with the competitive foods policy
which limits the amounts of fat, calories, saturated fats, sugars and sized of many
items. If it is sold after school there are no guidelines AS OF September 8, 2011.
Currently the USDA is updating the policies at the national level.