HCPSS MPIA Request #2026-197

Requestor
Jillian McBride
Requested Information
I am requesting the last 5 years data in relation to Policy 9090 - Wellness Through Nutrition and Physical Activity for all elementary schools.

Please include, these reports identified in the policy:
-The Superintendent/designee will provide an annual report on the implementation of the policy.
-Conduct periodic evaluations and report on systemwide and individual schools’ compliance with the policy.
-Each school principal will provide annual updates to the Superintendent/designee regarding the school’s health and wellness initiatives and the school’s implementation of this policy.

If available, please include any information detailing the number of indoor vs. outdoor recess days by elementary school.

Per the Policy 9090 Implementation Procedures - Wellness Through Nutrition and Physical Activity. Can you please include the definition of "adequate space" and "equipment" when recess is indoors, as used in Section III.B.1.a:
Each elementary school will provide a 30 minute daily recess, preferably outdoors, during which schools should encourage moderate to vigorous physical activity through the provision of adequate space and equipment.
Date Received
Status
Complete
Response Notes

Responsive to this request, no data exists for indoor vs. outdoor recess time as those decisions are made individually by schools on a day-by-day basis as well as sometimes grade-by-grade. As noted in Policy 9090 Implementation Procedures, each elementary school will provide a 30 minute daily recess. Additionally, staff indicates there is no policy or implementation definition of “adequate space and equipment” as both would be determined by the school’s administration given the adequate space and equipment at one school could be different from another. Under the MPIA process, and as advised in the Nineteenth Edition of the Maryland Public Information Act Manual created by Maryland’s Office of the Attorney General, an agency is only obligated to produce existing records and has no obligation to create records to satisfy a PIA request.

 

Responsive Documents
The most recent evaluation by the Maryland State Department of Education completed during the 2023-2024 school year.
Per clarification you were looking for additional annual reports submitted by the following schools on health and wellness initiatives and the school’s implementation of this policy:
Bushy Park Elementary
Manor Woods Elementary
West Friendship Elementary
Triadelphia Ridge Elementary
Wavery Elementary

This contains survey responses from SY2022-2023 for each school sought.
This contains survey responses from SY2023-2024 for Triadelphia Ridge, Manor Woods, and West Friendship. The remaining schools sought did not submit responses. Beyond the two years noted above, similar annual reports/surveys for assessment by school were not conducted by the Food and Nutrition Services Office.

*Some request language is summarized to include the requester's specific document requests and legally protected information (such as personally identifiable information of a student) or personal, defamatory and malicious content removed at the discretion of the school system.

**Responses containing legally protected information available only to the person of interest are omitted from the above report.

***Howard County Public Schools reserves the right to remove erroneous or outdated documents from this site.