Avocacy Alert 5/27/2010
Thursday, 27 May 2010 20:27
Last week, the Ohio Senate passed with strong bipartisan support (24-7), the Healthy Choices for Healthy Children legislation (SB 210/ HB 373).
With the support of all four co-sponsors (Senators Coughlin and Kearney, Representatives Carney and Wachtmann), SB 210 was amended in the Senate to do the following:
1. Allow school districts to request a waiver from the requirement to provide 30 minutes of daily physical activity due to financial hardship;
2. Allow districts to apply for a waiver from the BMI screening provision due to financial hardship; and
3. Exempt career technical, post secondary enrollment option (PSEO), dropout prevention and recovery and e-schools from the physical activity requirement.
This week, Senate Bill 210 will be considered in the Ohio House of Representatives. Senators Coughlin and Kearney will provide sponsor testimony before the House Health Committee. A Committee vote will hopefully follow their testimony. It is critically important that we have a bi-partisan vote out of the Health Committee.
Please call members of the Health Committee and urge them to vote "Yes" on SB 210. The attached advocacy alert provides telephone numbers for Health Committee members and the counties they represent. Since Representative John Carney (one of the co-sponsors of HB 373/SB 210) is the only Franklin County Representative on the Health Committee, we're asking volunteers and staff to select any three Health Committee members (especially those you know personally) and call them by 12 Noon tomorrow.
Please contact Valerie Ridgeway 614-227-2706 or valerie.ridgeway@uwcentralohio.org) if there are any questions. Thank you.
