Education |

Colorado education board considers lifting ban on diet soda in schools

Health advocates are lobbying the Colorado Board of Education to overturn its decision last month lifting a seven-year ban on diet sodas in high schools.

The board voted 4-3 to align the state’s school beverage policy with the less-restrictive federal standards. The vote effectively nullified the diet-soda ban implemented in 2009, with the passage of the Colorado Beverage Policy.

The vote was along party lines, with Republicans supporting the rule change. The majority of board members said the ban has not cut childhood obesity rates in Colorado because students can go off campus to get their sodas.

They also said they didn’t want local school districts dealing with fewer regulations and more local control over what students eat and drink.

But supporters of the Colorado regulation say the board — which makes its final vote Wednesday — would set a bad precedent for the state, which up until now had one of the most restrictive soda policies in the country.

Ignacio Perez, a senior at Centaurus High in Lafayette, said few if any of his friends and classmates drink diet soda because of the ban.

“There is so much evidence that drinking sodas is not healthy for students, so why should we retreat on this issue now?” Perez said. “Colorado has been a leader, a role model, and we should stay that way.”

Because the August vote was part of a rulemaking regulation, it had to be unanimous. That sets up Wednesday’s vote, which will be taken at the Colorado Department of Education building, 201 E. Colfax Ave., in Denver on Wednesday morning. Passage of the new rule does not have to be unanimous.

Health groups say the consumption of sweet drinks contributes to health problems, including childhood obesity and diabetes.

Several are lobbying against the rule change, including the American Heart Association, Colorado Health Foundation, Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation, LiveWell Colorado and Colorado Children’s Campaign.

While diet sodas are calorie-free, they are acidic and erode teeth. Also, allowing diet sodas in high schools may deter students from making healthier choices such as water or white milk, said Wyatt Hornsby, spokesman for Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation.

Parents know they are responsible for their children’s health, but many times, they can’t control what their kids pull out of a school’s vending machine, including diet sodas, Hornsby said.

“Yes, parents have a big responsibility when it comes to teaching their children healthy behaviors, but so do our schools and the state board of education, given that many children spend eight or more hours a day in school,” Hornsby said.

Groups opposing the change are redoubling their efforts before Wednesday vote. An online petition campaign has attracted 2,000 signatures.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture took three years to develop its own standards that allow for diet sodas in high school. But those standards are a baseline for local school districts, which can produce even stricter rules for food and drink, said Kevin Concannon, the USDA’s undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services.

“If local communities or schools elect to develop more stringent standards, they may do so,” Concannon said.

Colorado is unusual in that it’s one of the few states that find the new federal rules too lax for schools, he said. “In most cases, states had to strengthen their standards to meet the federal standards. In Colorado’s case, they are going in the opposite direction.”