Hiring Requirements and Qualifications of School Food Authority Directors Changed in Some Districts After Implementation of US Department of Agriculture Professional Standards.

BACKGROUND: In 2015, the US Department of Agriculture set minimum education and training requirements (ie, professional standards) to ensure that school nutrition professionals have the knowledge and experience to operate school meal programs. No study to date has examined whether hiring requirements and qualifications of school food authority (SFA) directors have changed since 2015. OBJECTIVE: To assess changes in hiring requirements and qualifications of SFA directors since the US Department of Agriculture professional standards were established, overall and by district size. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of nationally representative district-level data from the 2012 and 2016 cycles of the School Health Policies and Practices Study. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: In 2012, 660 sampled districts completed the School Health Policies and Practices Study Nutrition Services questionnaire. In 2016, 599 sampled districts completed the questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hiring requirements for newly hired SFA directors and reported qualifications of SFA directors. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Differences in prevalence estimates from 2012 to 2016 for all districts and by district size were assessed with χ2 tests. RESULTS: Significant increases were found for 3 hiring requirements: degree in nutrition or related field, registered dietitian credential, and food safety certification. Significant changes in 4 of the 5 reported qualifications were found including an increase in the percentage of district directors with a degree in nutrition or a related field and decreases in the percentage of directors with a School Nutrition Specialist credential from the School Nutrition Association, School Nutrition Association certifications, and certified dietary managers. Changes were found in small and medium districts, but not large districts. CONCLUSIONS: District hiring requirements and SFA director qualifications have changed since the implementation of the US Department of Agriculture professional standards, including some differences by district size. Future research could identify challenges facing districts in hiring directors who have a degree in nutrition or related fields or who have specialized nutrition credentials or certificates (eg, registered dietitians).