USDA Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool

Summary

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 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, in four major areas (nutrition, operations, administration, and communications and marketing), to meet the requirements of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 Professional Standards Rule. The HHFKA (section 306) requires professional standards for state and local school district nutrition professionals. In addition to hiring standards, mandatory annual training is required for all individuals involved in preparing school meals.

Request for Comments

Written comments must be received on or before July 10, 2023.

• Comments may be sent to Kaushalya Heendeniya, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, 4th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314.
• Via email to cnpntab@usda.gov.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the online instructions for submitting comments electronically.

All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. All comments will be a matter of public record.

Abstract

The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010 (Section 306) requires professional standards for state and local school district nutrition professionals. In addition to hiring standards, mandatory annual training is required for all individuals involved in preparing school meals. To meet the training requirements and assist in keeping track of the training, USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) provides a web-based application tool with a structured query language (SQL)-server database, which is available for employees of state agencies, local educational agencies, and school food authorities through the FNS public website, with eAuthentication. While training requirements are mandatory, using the USDA Professional Standards Training Tracker Tool (PSTTT) is voluntary. The tool facilitates compliance with HHFKA requirements and is provided at no cost. In addition, FNS provides a mobile friendly version of the PSTTT application to ensure easy usage and accessibility across mobile devices. The application is compatible with all mobile operating systems (iOS, Android, and Windows).