Free Republic

A state-level bureaucrat is standing up to the the central government planners is a most unusual way. Arizona’s superintendent of public instruction, Diane Douglas, has informed all school districts in the Grand Canyon State that they have blanket authority to ignore all federal nutrition mandates regulating school fundraisers. "Forcing parents and other supporters of schools to only offer federally approved food and snacks at fundraisers is a perfect example of the overreach of government and intrusion into local control," Douglas said in a statement. "I have ordered effective immediately, that the ADE Health and Nutrition Services division grant exemptions for...

Bake sales used to fuel school's sports teams and clubs, raising money for the kids going away games, nicer uniforms, field trips and so on. But, a new law limits the amount of sugary treats that many bake sales offer. So, starting this Fall bake sales won't be as sweet anymore. Parents are allowed to sell candy and goodies, but it must meet the smart snack calculator requirement. If it meets all the nutritional requirements, the calories, sugar, fat and sodium, it's ok to sell that cookie. But, if it goes over well it's not allowed and the schools can...

The state’s declaration of war on cupcakes in the classroom went over like a lead souffle with Herald readers who voted resoundingly with their stomachs in an online poll yesterday. Readers pummeled bans on bake sales, pizza parties and ice cream socials during the school day — with 95 percent of those participating in the poll bucking the rule. “It’s really a shame for them to dictate to us what (our children) eat,” said baker extraordinaire Hillary Souza of Mansfield, whose Veronica’s Treats have been featured on “30 Rock” and “The Today Show” and gobbled up by health-obsessed celebrities. “My...

On December 3, the lame-duck House passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, previously approved by the Senate. President Obama, doubtless preoccupied with such trivia as taxes, unemployment, Korea and China, has yet to sign it into law. A mere two hundred and twenty pages long, it has lots of provisions for allocation of funds, demonstration projects, and the like. Many may be worthwhile. However, included in the legislation is a provision authorizing the secretary of Agriculture to regulate school fundraising bake sales to ensure that they are infrequent and that the goodies sold are nutritionally acceptable. Far from innocuous, that...

"Drop that brownie, young lady! You're in violation of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010." A bit of rhetorical hyperbole? Actually, that might not be too much of an exaggeration of what's in store under the new child nutrition law Congress passed Thursday. The bill, which gives the USDA power to regulate fat and sugar in schools, squeaked through the House thanks to heavy lobbying from sundry "public health" and child welfare groups. First Lady Michelle Obama's support probably didn't hurt, either. The feds will also be empowered to regulate fundraisers where food is sold -- i.e., bake sales. And...

(CBS) In California it's still legal to sell cupcakes, cookies and brownies in a bakery ... but not at a school bake sale. That fundraising slice of Americana - loaded with sugar and fat - has been banned in California schools by government order, reports CBS News correspondent John Blackstone. At Piedmont High School, principal Randall Booker has enforced a zero tolerance policy for what used to be a campus tradition. "I love the bake sales," he said. "I eat them myself. But there are state laws that we just have to abide by." To combat the epidemic of childhood...

The era of the chocolate cookie, sold from a card table for 25 cents, is rapidly fading on California school campuses. Thanks to the state's tough new nutritional standards for public schools, bake sales - that age-old staple of school fundraising - are nearly obsolete. Cookies, cupcakes, pizza and other easy-to-sell goodies invariably exceed the fat, sugar and caloric limits set by the Legislature for foods sold on campus to schoolkids. And at a time when school budgets are being slashed, some parents and school staff are mourning the loss. "Bake sales are one of the quickest and easiest ways...

The phrase “student activists” usually conjures up images of sign-waving protestors railing against various evils of the establishment. Indeed, for decades after the modern student movement began at the University of California-Berkeley in the 1960s, such protestors were traditionally liberal —and reflexively so, given that administrations were comparatively conservative. But now that today’s educational establishment is populated with yesterday’s student radicals, conservatives find themselves in the odd position of being the protestors. But rather than rely on disruptive tactics, modern conservatives are improving on plays from the liberal handbook: They’re making their points with wit and humor, not catcalling and...

After pressure from and public exposure by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), the College of William & Mary (W&M) has reversed course and allowed an "affirmative action bake sale" to proceed without interference.  A student group, the Sons of Liberty, saw its satirical protest unlawfully halted by W&M in November; it was one of many such protests nationwide that were shut down on campuses this past fall.  While W&M allowed the group's bake sale to proceed without incident this time, W&M President Timothy J. Sullivan issued a statement denying that his administration acted improperly in stopping...

<p>January 4, 2004 -- WANT to buy a cookie? If you are a white male, that'll be $1; for white females, 75 cents; blacks, 25 cents. The price structure is the message.</p> <p>Through Affirmative Action Bake Sales, conservative groups on campuses across America are satirically and peacefully spotlighting the injustice of programs that penalize or benefit students based solely on gender and race. The cookie rebels are being slammed by such a backlash that the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) - dreaded by many university administrators - shot "an opening salvo" in the rebels' defense.</p>

An education watchdog group is charging several colleges around the country with silencing free speech after shutting down bake sales and is considering legal action. The "affirmative action bake sales," held by Republican and libertarian groups are modeled after "wage gap" bake sales held by student feminist groups, have sold cookies and brownies at different prices depending on student's race and sex to protest college policies that determine admissions based on such factors. The bake sales have been shut down on several college campuses in recent months. At one, two angry students at the University of Washington who were opposed...

<p>Want to buy a cookie? If you are a white male, that'll be $1; for white females, 75 cents; blacks, 25 cents. The price structure is the message.</p> <p>Through Affirmative Action Bake Sales, conservative groups on campuses across America are satirically and peacefully spotlighting the injustice of AA programs that penalize or benefit students based solely on gender and race. The cookie rebels are being slammed by such a backlash that the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) -- dreaded by many university administrators -- just shot "an opening salvo" in the rebels' defense.</p>

<p>An education watchdog group is charging several colleges around the country with silencing free speech after shutting down bake sales and is considering legal action.</p> <p>The "affirmative action bake sales," held by Republican and libertarian groups are modeled after "wage gap" bake sales held by student feminist groups, have sold cookies and brownies at different prices depending on student's race and sex to protest college policies that determine admissions based on such factors.</p>