Leander ISD's SHAC presents annual recommendations on nutrition, recess, mental health and character education

The Leander ISD School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) presented its statutorily required year-end report to the board on June 9, recommending steps to promote student physical health, nutrition, social-emotional learning and character education. District staff and SHAC volunteers walked trustees through a set of "continue, stop, start" recommendations from subcommittees focused on physical activity and nutrition, social and emotional well-being, and a review of the district's 10 ethical principles. Physical activity and nutrition recommendations included continued use of CATCH curriculum and the district's quality recess guidelines, plus new proposals such as digital menu boards, clearer snack-nutrition facts linked from menus and pilot campus wellness events to increase family engagement. The committee also urged the district to reduce single-use plastics and to better integrate CATCH terminology into cafeteria messaging. The social-emotional committee recommended phased implementation of Stanford Safety First, a free, evidence-based substance-use-prevention curriculum, splitting its lessons over fall and spring semesters in middle and high school, and incremental expansion of local Hope Squad programs while preserving implementation quality. The committee also urged consistent districtwide use of the existing Second Step program at elementary campuses and recommended bolstering resources on the district's "Empowering Parent" website. A separate SHAC working group crosswalked the district's 10 ethical principles with the district graduate profile and recommended aligning the documents and classroom "I can" statements to make character education more consistent across grade levels. Board members asked administration to provide follow-up clarifications about which recommendations would require policy changes, which are advisory, and how SHAC recommendations align with state statute. Trustees requested a report-back on implementation steps and a comparison with other districts' SHAC practices. Staff said they would update the SHAC dashboard to show implementation status and return to the board with clarifying information.