Passing a law to ban marketing in schools is one thing, but ensuring compliance can be an added challenge for communities. NPLAN's new factsheet, Maine's Laws Banning Food Ads in School, accompanied the release of a new study, Examining Compliance with a Statewide Law Banning Junk Food and Beverage Marketing in Maine Schools.

In 2007, the Maine legislature passed the first state law prohibiting brand- specific advertising of certain unhealthy foods and beverages in schools. University of New England researchers assessed compliance with the law by visiting a representative sample of Maine high schools in 2010, interviewing principals and the food service director or other key administrators, and tracking the nature and extent of marketing materials displayed in schools.

The researchers found that posters and signs for unhealthy foods and beverages appeared in 85 percent of Maine high schools, even though a majority of administrators were eager to support the ban. To help Maine schools comply with the law, the National Policy and Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN) developed this fact sheet.