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PROFESSIONAL

STANDARDS

Julie Powers, RDN, SNS Food Service Director – Stillwater Area Schools

Minnesota SNA President Elect

FNS Child Nutrition Programs Priorities

• Promoting childhood nutrition,

• Encouraging healthier food choices,

• Increasing the availability of food,

• Adhering to science-based

nutrition standards, and

• Ensuring that children get food,

year-round

Today’s Objectives

• Following today’s session you will:

• Understand the key requirements of the final rule

• Understand the flexibilities allowed

• Learn about available resources

• Learn the answers to common questions

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Presentation Outline

• Overview of New Professional Standards

• Hiring Standards

• Training Standards

• Planning Your Professional Standards Training

• FNS and Partner Training Resources

• Frequently Asked Questions

What are Professional Standards?

An important step

towards ensuring that

ALL of America’s

children receive safe,

nutritious meals

through efficient, cost-

effective programs.

Professional Standards: Goals

• ASSIST State agencies and SFAs

with recruiting, hiring, training, and

retaining qualified school nutrition

staff.

• ENHANCE the public image of

school nutrition professionals.

• BUILD skills and empower school

nutrition staff to exceed the

expectations of students, comply with

Federal meal pattern requirements,

meet food safety standards, and

maximize the use of USDA foods.

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Stakeholder Input

• March 2012

Two-day listening session

With representatives from

State agencies, local

educational agencies, and

others.

• July 2012, 2013, & 2014

SNA’s Annual National

Conference

MSNA Conferences

The Final Rule

Published March 2, 2015

• Available at:

www.regulations.gov

• Implementation began

July 1, 2015.

• Establishes minimum

requirements:

• Hiring standards for NEW

State/local directors.

• Annual training standards

for ALL employees.

What’s in the Regulation?

The Final Rule

• Establishes director hiring

requirements for three LEA

size categories.

• Has hiring options that

emphasize experience.

• Indicates the required

annual training hours for all

SFA personnel.

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New Standards: SFAs

Hiring Standards Annual Training

Requirements

NEW SFA

Directors EXISTING SFA

Directors ALL OTHER

SFA Managers

and Staff

Hiring Standards for

SFA Directors,

Managers, and Staff

Hiring Standards for SFA Directors

• Hiring standards are

based on three LEA size

categories:

• 2,499 or less student

enrollment

• 2,500-9,999 student

enrollment

• 10,000 or more student

enrollment

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Hiring Standards:

LEAs 2,499 students or less

• Bachelor’s degree with specific major, OR

• Bachelor’s degree with any major, and a State recognized

certificate OR

• Bachelor’s degree with any major and at least 1 year of

relevant experience OR

• Associate’s degree with specific major and at least 1 year

of relevant experience OR

• High School diploma (or GED) and 3 years of relevant

experience

Special Consideration for Very Small LEAs

• For LEAs with <500

students: State agency

has discretion to

approve the hiring of a

director that has a high

school diploma but

less than 3 years of

experience

Hiring Standards:

LEAs 2,500 – 9,999 students

• Bachelor’s degree with specific major, OR

• Bachelor’s degree with any academic major, and

a State-recognized certificate; OR

• Bachelor’s degree with any academic major and

at least 2 years of experience, OR

• Associate’s degree with specific major and at

least 2 years of experience

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Hiring Standards:

LEAs 10,000 or more students

• Bachelor’s degree with specific major, OR

• Bachelor’s degree with any academic major, and

a State-recognized certificate; OR

• Bachelor’s degree with academic major and at

least 5 years experience in management of

programs

Food Safety Certification

• For New SFA Directors in All LEAs: • At least eight hours of food safety training within five

years prior to the starting date, or completed within 30

days of the starting date.

• State Agency has discretion to require

current SFA directors to obtain food safety

certification every five years.

Training

Standards for

SFA Directors,

Managers, and

Staff

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Training Requirements for

Directors and Managers • SFA School Nutrition

Director

12 annual training hours

• SFA School Nutrition

Managers

10 annual training hours

Training Requirements

for All Other Staff

• SFA School

Nutrition Staff

6 annual training hours

• All Part-Time Staff

(<20 hrs. per week)

4 annual training hours

Phasing in Training

Training standards in SY 2015-2016

• Program Directors: 8 hours

(12 hours beginning SY 2016-2017)

• Program Managers: 6 hours

(10 hours beginning SY 2016-2017)

• All Program Staff: 4 hours

(6 hours beginning SY 2016-2017

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Annual Training Standards:

SFA School Nutrition Personnel

• Training topics should apply

directly to an individual’s job

• The Secretary has discretion

to require completion of

specific training topics, as

needed, to address critical

Program issues

Training Standards: Flexibilities

• An employee hired on

January 1 or later must

complete half of the

required training hours

• At the State agency’s

discretion, SFA training

standards may be

completed over a period of

two school years

• Some training hours must be

completed each SY

Oversight

SFA Oversight

• Document compliance with

the hiring and training

standards for SFA director,

manager and staff

• Documentation must be

available for an

Administrative Review

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Compliance

• State agencies will monitor an SFA’s compliance

with the Professional Standards during the

Administrative Review. State agencies will

examine:

• Records that document the completion of applicable

hiring.

• Records that document continuing education and

training requirements.

Additional Flexibilities

• The rule has flexibilities for the first year of

implementation:

• Hiring a director that meets the employment

requirements in place prior to July 1, 2015, if the

vacancy is advertised prior to July 1.

• Phases in the training requirements in SY 2015-2016.

• Allows training received three months prior to July 1,

2015, to count toward SY 2015-16 training

requirements.

Planning Your

Professional

Standards

Training

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Training Format

• A variety of training formats

are allowable, including

many free or low-cost

options:

• Virtual training

• Web-based training

• In-person training

• Webinars

• Conferences

• In-house training

Key Learning Areas

• All training should fit

into one of these

categories:

• Nutrition

• Operations

• Administration

• Communications &

Marketing

Training Topics

NUTRITION

• Menu planning

• Nutrition education

• General nutrition

OPERATIONS

• Food production

• Serving food

• Cashier & point of service

• Receiving and storage

• Food safety and HACCP

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Training Topics ADMINISTRATION • Free & reduced price meal

benefits

• Program management

• Financial management

• Human resources & staff training

• Facilities & equipment planning

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING • Communications and

marketing

1000 NUTRITION

• 1100 MENU PLANNING

• 1100 USDA NUTRITION REQUIREMENTS

• 1200 CYCLE MENUS

• 1130 LOCAL FOODS – FARM TO SCHOOL

• 1140 STANDARDIZED RECIPES

• 1150 MENU ANALYSIS

• 1160 SPECIAL DIETS, INCLUDING FOOD ALLERGIES

• 1170 USDA FOODS

Menu Planning: Example

Employee will be able to effectively and efficiently plan and prepare

standardized recipes, cycle menus, and meals, including the use of

USDA foods, to meet all Federal school nutrition program requirements,

including the proper meal components.

1. Plan menus that meet USDA nutrition requirements for reimbursable meals,

including calculating meal components.

2. Plan cycle menus that meet all rules. Consider cost, equipment, foods

available, storage, staffing, student tastes, and promotional events.

3. Utilize local food sources, especially Farm to School, when possible.

4. Write standardized recipes, and use Food Buying Guide.

5. Analyze menus for school meal pattern requirements.

6. Plan meals to accommodate students requiring special diets, including food

allergies.

7. Plan for effective use of USDA Foods.

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Funding the Training

• Providing training to school

nutrition personnel IS an

allowable use of the nonprofit

school food service account.

• Paying for costs incurred by

an individual to meet the

hiring standards are NOT an

allowable use of funds.

FNS & Partner

Training

Resources

State Training Grants

• FNS is providing $4

million for training

programs

• Competitive grants of

up to $150,000 for

State agencies

• Award Date: Sept 30,

2015

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NFSMI-ICN Training

• The Institute of Child Nutrition (NFSMI) offers FREE

training in a variety of formats:

• In-person training

• Webinar training

• On-line training

• Expanded ICN Training:

• New in-person trainings

• Additional $2 million for training

School Nutrition Association

• SNA provides a variety of

professional standards tools

including a tracking tool,

professional standards guide &

certificate guide, and training

resources to help meet the

standards easily

https://schoolnutrition.org/Cert/US

DAProfessionalStandards/

Website

• The Professional

Standards for School

Nutrition

Professionals website

includes over 450 free

or low-cost training

resources:

http://professionalstand

ards.nal.usda.gov/

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Tracking Training Hours

• The FNS Training

Tracking Tool may be

used to document training

hours:

• Allows users to access and

update their training hours.

• Available at:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-

meals/professional-standards

For assistance, email or call the

help desk.

Just Released! FNS Guidance

Policy Guidance: Q&A

Memo SP 39-2015 (June

26, 2015): Explains the new

hiring and training

standards in Q&A format.

• Available on the USDA-FNS

Webpage and on PartnerWeb.

More Information

• Professional Standards

Flyer

• Professional Standards

Brochure:

http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn

/professional-standards-

brochure

• Guide to Professional

Standards: Coming

Soon!

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Additional Resources • FNS Professional Standards Webpage: Includes links to a variety

of resources for school nutrition directors and staff

http://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/professional-standards

• School Meals Professional Standards: Includes a downloadable tool to help directors and employees track training activities

http://www/fns.usda.gov/school-meals/professional-standards

• FNS Office of Food Safety: Includes food safety training and other resources

http://www.nsfmi.org/Templates/TemplateDefault.aspx?qs=cEIEPTU3

• SCHOOL NUTRITION ASSOCIATION: Includes a variety of resources, include a guide, tracking tool and certificate guide

https://schoolnutrition.org/Cert/USDAProfessionalStandards/

Frequently

Asked

Questions

QUESTION:

Are sample job descriptions available to help local

operators determine who is covered by the

professional standards for Program directors?

ANSWER:

Yes, sample job descriptions are available at:

http://www.nfsmi.org/ResourceOverview.aspx?ID=

161

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QUESTION:

What is “equivalent educational experience”?

ANSWER:

“Equivalent educational experience” refers to college

credits completed by an individual who does not possess a

bachelor’s degree or associate’s degree. The State

agency has the flexibility to determine if other substantial

education, such as an extensive training program in school

nutrition topics from a professional association, would

qualify as equivalent experience.

QUESTION:

May excess training hours be “carried over” to the next

year?

ANSWER:

Excess training hours may be, at the discretion of the State

agency, carried over to an immediately previous or

immediately subsequent school year.

QUESTION:

Are volunteers required to meet the new training

standards?

ANSWER:

FNS does not require volunteers to meet the new

professional standards. However, the State agency may

choose to extend the training requirements to volunteers, in

which case the volunteers are required to meet the

standards.

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QUESTION:

If the school nutrition program director role is shared

between multiple people, how do the new hiring standards

apply?

ANSWER:

The individual who performs the majority of the planning,

administrative, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation

of the school nutrition program must meet the training

standards for Program directors.

QUESTION:

Who is included under the term “school nutrition staff?”

ANSWER:

The term refers to individuals without managerial

responsibilities who are involved in the day-to-day

operations of the school food service for a school

participating in the NSLP or SBP. Generally, this includes

cooks and cashiers; staff involved in eligibility

determinations and meal counting/claiming; and support

staff.

QUESTION:

Who can provide the training?

ANSWER:

FNS also allows State agencies to involve university staff,

professional associations, industry groups, and advocates

in the training process. Popular options include: FNS,

NFSMI-ICN, SNA and professional organizations, in-house

staff, the State agency, and commercial vendors.

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ADDITIONAL

QUESTIONS?