Relates to instruction in food, agriculture and nutrition in elementary and high school; contents may be varied to meet the needs of particular school districts; need not be uniform throughout the state; school districts shall utilize either the curriculum for health education instruction regarding food, agriculture and nutrition prescribed by the commissioner or a course approved by the commissioner in accordance with criteria established by the commissioner.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A604
SPONSOR: Rosenthal TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to instruction in food,
agriculture and nutrition
PURPOSE:
This bill includes instruction on food, agriculture, and nutrition in
the statewide health curriculum and to promote healthy eating behavior
in students.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the education law by adding a new section 804-e.
Section two sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
As identified by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in a Febru-
ary 2010 report entitled Food NYC: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food
System, one in five New York City kindergarteners suffers from obesity
and similarly poor nutritional metrics can be observed in students
throughout the public school system. A mandatory curriculum integrating
lessons on nutrition, food and agriculture could instill healthy eating
habits at an early age that would over the course of a lifetime produce
better health outcomes for students that received this instruction.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: A.395 - Referred to Education; S.6396 Referred to Education
2021-22: A.1557 - Referred to Education; S.5215 - Referred to Education
2019-20: A.877 - Referred to Education; 5.4853 Referred to Education
2017-18: A.2899 - Referred to Education; 5.3290 - Referred to Education
2015-16: A.544 - Referred to Education; S.1905 Referred to Education
2013-14: A.760 - Referred to Education; S.5476 Referred to Education
2011-12: A.1472 - Referred to Education
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
604
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, BARRETT -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to instruction in food,
agriculture and nutrition
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 804-e
2 to read as follows:
3 § 804-e. Health education regarding food, agriculture and nutrition.
4 1. All schools shall include, as an integral part of health education,
5 instruction on food, agriculture and nutrition to promote eating behav-
6 ior that enhances the health and well-being of the students.
7 2. Instruction regarding food, agriculture and nutrition shall be
8 included in the health education provided for all elementary school
9 pupils and shall be taught by the regular classroom teachers or by
10 teachers certified to teach health education. Such instruction shall be
11 designed according to the needs and abilities of the pupils at succes-
12 sive grade levels with the purpose of developing desirable health behav-
13 ior, attitudes and knowledge, as well as self-reliance and problem solv-
14 ing capacity.
15 3. Instruction regarding food, agriculture and nutrition, in addition
16 to continued health guidance in high schools, shall be an integral part
17 of a required health education course at each level in the secondary
18 school's curriculum. Any such course shall be taught by teachers holding
19 a certificate to teach health. Related courses in the secondary school
20 curriculum shall be taught in a manner supportive of health education
21 regarding food, agriculture and nutrition.
22 4. The commissioner may prescribe such regulations regarding instruc-
23 tion on food, agriculture and nutrition as the commissioner may deem
24 necessary and desirable for the health and welfare of pupils and the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02544-01-5
A. 604 2
1 community. The contents may be varied to meet the needs of particular
2 school districts, or portions thereof, and need not be uniform through-
3 out the state, provided, however, that school districts shall utilize
4 either the curriculum for health education instruction regarding food,
5 agriculture and nutrition prescribed by the commissioner or a course
6 approved by the commissioner in accordance with criteria established by
7 the commissioner.
8 5. School authorities shall provide the needed facilities, time and
9 place for the instruction set forth in this section and shall provide
10 learning aids and curriculum resource materials which contribute to
11 effective teaching methods and learning in health education regarding
12 food, agriculture and nutrition.
13 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
14 the date on which it shall have become a law.
