FNS Documents & Resources

These resources provide school nutrition professionals with the knowledge and tools to implement and meet the professional standards requirements within their programs.

This collection is an extension, without change, of a currently approved collection for assisting state agencies and school nutrition professionals in recording, tracking, and managing the required training hours for state and local school district nutrition professionals to meet the requirements of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 Professional Standards Rule.

The Professional Standards Summary of Updates flyer provides an overview of the professional standards requirements which consist of hiring standards and annual training requirements for state directors of school nutrition programs, state director of distributing agencies, school nutrition program directors, managers, and staff.

A central resource outlining the USDA Professional Standards requirements for state and local school nutrition professionals.

This Q&A memorandum is designed to provide an overview of the policies related to the Professional Standards regulations for state and local school nutrition program personnel. 

Professional Standards for school nutrition professionals is a key provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The final rule, published March 2, 2015, requires a minimum amount of annual training hours for all state directors of school nutrition programs, state director of distributing agencies, school nutrition program directors, managers, and staff.

This proposed rule would add four flexibilities to the hiring standards for new school nutrition program directors in small local educational agencies and new school nutrition program state directors under the professional standards regulations for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.

The Special Nutrition Program Operations Study is a multiyear study designed to provide the Food and Nutrition Service with a snapshot of current state and school food authority policies and practices of the school meal programs, including information on school meal standards, competitive foods standards, professional standards, school lunch pricing and accounting, and Smarter Lunchrooms activities. 

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a new collection for assisting state agencies to record, track and manage the required training hours in four major areas (nutrition, operations, administration, communications and marketing) to meet the requirements of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 Professional Standards Rule.

This document contains a correction to the final rule published in the Federal Register on March 2, 2015, "Professional Standards for State and Local School Nutrition Programs Personnel as Required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010."