Starting Aug. 1, Louisiana public schools will be required to teach about eating disorders and how to prevent them.
“Body image and students and girls not knowing how much it affects their bodies and the functioning in the long term, I thought it was definitely worth trying to introduce it or even begin to talk about it in our public schools,” said Louisiana state Rep. Tammy Phelps, D-Shreveport, who authored the legislation now known as Act 626.
Officials say the COVID-19 pandemic caused a rise in eating disorders. The new law requires schools to provide age- and grade-appropriate classroom instruction about the dangers of eating disorders starting by the sixth grade.
