As seen in a WaPo article and blog posting:
The agreement calls for eliminating sales of sodas, diet sodas, sports drinks, juice drinks, apple juice or grape juice in elementary schools. Water and more healthful juices such as orange juice could continue to be sold, but in only eight-ounce or smaller containers, according to sources who were briefed yesterday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan had not yet been announced.
In middle schools, the same drinks will be offered but in containers as large as 10 ounces.
In high schools, the drink size will be limited to 12 ounces. No sugary sodas will be sold, and half the drinks offered will be water or a low-calorie beverage, such as diet soda, diet lemonade or diet iced tea. Sports drinks will be allowed, as will juice drinks as long as they have fewer than 100 calories per serving.
It’s about darned time. Of course, I’m amazed that such a requirement is necessary. In my elementary and junior high schools, I don’t recall there being a vending machine accessible to students on campus. I think there may have been Hi-C machines at my high school, but I don’t recall having used them.
The idea that that sodas are/were being sold on campus boggles my mind….although I do have to admit that caffeine got me through going to a high school with a 7:15am start time.
I’m aware that some schools derive income from deals made with the bottling company. Given how tight education budgets are (temporarily setting aside my gripes about how education money is being mis-spent), I assume that those monies will be made up for somehow.
