School Nutrition Programs Compliance Handbook

School Nutrition Programs Compliance Handbook

Chapter  8 - Professional Standards for school nutrition professionals

*All Referenced forms are available upon request.

Professional Standards for school nutrition professionals was a key provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA).  The final rules; “Professional Standards for State and Local School Nutrition Programs Personnel as required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010,” which took effect July 1, 2015 and “Hiring Flexibilities Under Professional Standards,” which took effect April 30, 2019.

USDA has established minimum professional standards requirements for school nutrition professionals who manage and operate the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The standards aim to institute minimum education standards for new State and local school nutrition directors as well as annual training standards for all school nutrition professionals. These new standards will ensure school nutrition personnel have the knowledge, training, and tools they need to plan, prepare, and purchase healthy products to create nutritious, safe, and enjoyable school meals. Required training topic areas will vary according to position and job requirements. The final rule:

• Creates minimum hiring standards for new school food authority (SFA) directors based on a school district's size;
• Establishes minimum hiring standards for new State directors of school nutrition programs and State directors of distributing agencies; and
• Requires minimum annual training for all new and current school nutrition professionals.

 Each LEA that operates the NSLP and/or SBP must meet the requirements of the Professional Standards for State and Local School Nutrition Programs Personnel rule. These standards ensure school nutrition personnel have the knowledge and training they need to plan, prepare and purchase healthy products to create nutritious, safe, and enjoyable school meals.

HIRING STANDARDS for New School Nutrition Program Directors:

• Standards apply to new hires beginning July 1, 2015; current directors are exempt from meeting the hiring standards

• Definition of "Director" is not based on named title, but rather role and responsibilities

• Minimum Education Standards for new directors: based on student enrollment

• Training Requirement: At least eight hours food safety training in the past five years or within 30 days of hiring

• If a director moves to a new LEA, the director would need to meet hiring requirements based on enrollment at the new LEA

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS for All School Nutrition Program Employees:

Requirements set by job category – job category definitions defined by job role and responsibilities, rather than title

Director: Individual(s) directly responsible for the management of the day to day operations of the school nutrition programs for all participating schools under the jurisdiction of the school food authority

Manager: Individual(s) directly responsible for the day to day operations of the school nutrition programs for a participating school(s)

School Nutrition program staff: Individual(s) without managerial responsibilities who are involved in routine operations of the school nutrition programs for a participating school(s); may include individuals who prepare and serve meals, process transactions at point of service, and review the free/reduced price applications

• Yearly requirements (School Year)
• Directors: ≥ 12 hrs
• Managers: ≥ 10 hrs
• All other staff: ≥ 6 hrs
• Part time staff: ≥ 4 hrs

• If hired January 1st or later, an employee may only complete half of the required training hours for that school year

• Training is required to be in one of the four Professional Standards Key Areas. Each Key Area is further defined by Key Topics and specific training subjects with objectives to assist in planning and tracking training

Key Areas

• Training hours in excess of the requirement may be carried over to the immediate subsequent school year

Record keeping requirements:

• Director is responsible for demonstrating that the LEA is in compliance during the Administrative Review
• Tracking tool should identify the school year the training applies to
• USDA created a tool to assist in tracking staff training:

References and resources, including USDA Tool:

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