And I quote................

"It’s just gym, huh?

"Well think again. It’s the only subject I know of that directly reduces a kid’s long-term risk of heart failure, diabetes, depression, anxiety, several cancers, and obesity — and at the same time enhances fitness, cognitive function, self-esteem, teamwork, and overall good health.
Like it or not, the truth is, if we keep cutting PE out of our schools and physical activity out of o…

Colorado lawmakers are starting work on mandatory recess / physical activity requirements for schools.

The measure approved in committee Monday afternoon requires all elementary school students to receive 30 minutes a day of physical activity. It now goes to a vote in the House.

House Bill 1069 would allow physical education classes to count toward the requirement, but recess couldn't replace P.E.

Nine states and the District of Columbia enact…

Physical Activity Used as Punishment - This position statement addresses the inappropriate use of or withdrawal from physical activity as a disciplinary consequence, both within and outside of the school environment.


Arizona HB2037 - Minimum Recess and Lunch Periods - Requires school districts to provide 30 minutes of recess daily in addition to a minimum 20 minute lunch period to each pupil in grades one through six.


Michigan Board of Education L…

A California Court of Appeal ruled that parents may sue a school or district that is not providing students the minimum amount of physical education mandated by state law. It has been reported that more than half the state's schools were not providing the required 200 minutes every 10 days for elementary-school students, or 400 minutes over that period for middle- and high-schoolers. San Francisco Chronicle

Though sugary sodas have been banned for some time in the state's public schools, in middle and high schools, sugar-sweetened sports drinks are allowed. SB1255, already passed by the State Senate and today passed by the Assembly's Education Committee, would ban sale of sugar-sweetened sports drinks during school hours too.

Read Sugary Sport Drinks.

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Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds

Banning Junk Food Works.

Americans may be facing difficult choices at chain restaurants in the future. The health bill President Barack Obama signed into law Tuesday requires that restaurant chains post calorie counts for all the food items they sell. The law covers any chain with at least 20 outlets, amounting to more than 200,000 restaurants nationwide.

Adults may be learning the new lingo that kids have faced in making food choices for some time now as a result of …

The Obama administration will begin a drive this week to expel Pepsi, French fries and Snickers bars from the nation’s schools in hopes of reducing the number of children who add pounds during their school years, according to the New York Times.

In legislation, soon to be introduced, candy and sugary beverages would be banned and many schools would be required to offer more nutritious fare. The announcement is expected to come today, President&#…

First he took on global warming in the film, "An inconvenient truth." Now documentary filmmaker, Davis Guggenheim is taking on public education in his new film, "Waiting for Superman".

Waiting for Superman examines the 'crisis' of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories-from a handful of students and their families whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers t…

Ohio legislators this week are discussing mandating Physical Education for all students.

Senator McCarthy and Kent State University professor Steve Mitchell said increased physical activity helps students to focus more on their studies, demonstrate better school attendance, increased test scores and have fewer disciplinary issues, during a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse Jan. 13.

And Mitchell downplayed criticism that the legislation wou…

I bet you're thinking the healthcare bill is strictly about insurance coverage. According to Jeffrey Levi director of America's Trust, you would be wrong. “This isn’t just about health insurance,’’ he said. “This bill is about creating a healthier country through building paths, playgrounds, and parks."

These proposed additions have been characterized as part of a broad effort to improve the nation’s health “infrastructure’’ - and …

Approximately 3,000 teachers will be trained to implement the compulsory physical education program in Uganda.

"We do not want a country that will not have healthy citizens. We want to have healthy citizens through games and sports. So we will start compulsory teaching of physical education, PE, in all our secondary and tertiary schools before the end of this year," according to the national commissioner for physical education and sp…

Boston’s public schools have failed to provide any formal instruction in physical education to about 25 percent of the city’s students, despite a state law that requires physical education be taught to all students in all grades.

Boston’s failure to provide physical education to all its students has prompted the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to order a “corrective action plan’’ from the city. The plan, approved last month…

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed trimming state money for physical education courses at community colleges as a result of the budget shortfall.

Under the governor's proposal, P.E. classes would be funded as noncredit courses, resulting in a 40 percent cut in state funding. The plan, unveiled in his revised budget this month, would cut millions of dollars from the budgets of some college districts and eliminate numerous part time teac…

Children's lack of physical activity was one of the top 10 health concerns in 2008, according to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

Accordingly some parents are turning to Kids Fitness Clubs offered through fitness centers and YMCA's. Membership in the Kids Fitness Club costs in the neighborhood of $100 for every eight sessions. It remains to be seen if parents are turni…

Georgia Approves Annual Physical Fitness Assessments for Students

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) has approved a measure that will require students in Georgia schools to undergo annual fitness assessments, the Macon Telegraph reports.

School districts across the nation are facing budget cuts and looking ways to save money. In this "need vs want" environment some districts are asking, "is it really necessary for athletes, band members, cheer leaders and ROTC participants to take PE?"

About half the states currently allow students to be waivered out of PE requirements for reasons listed previously.

Physical educators argue that students should experience a va…

House bill 159 would require all elementary schools to have at least twenty minutes of recess every day.

State lawmakers are looking at giving kids a break. House bill 159 would require all elementary schools to have at least twenty minutes of recess every day.

Studies show unstructured recess enhances a child’s imagination and social skills.

Video: Recess May Be Mandated

San Francisco USD engaged in a two year battle in 2006 to phase out JROTC in it's schools by the 2008-2009 school year. The School Board resolution in 2006 stated the following reasons: 1. JROTC instructors are not certified or in some cases do not even possess a degree of any kind, 2) in a healthy demoncracy the restriction of military involvement in civilian affairs is fundamental, 3) SFUSD has adopted violence prevention and conflict res…

The Fit Kids Act would require schools, districts and states to report on students' physical activity, and to give youngsters health and nutritional information. The bill was supported by NFL playgrounds on March 19 in Washington DC. Players led the children in jumping jacks, stretching and running-in-place exercises and signed autographs in a PEP Rally of sorts to show their support of the Fit Kids Act.
The House sponsor, Rep. Ron Kind, D…

New Approach New Results

For years physical educators across the country have advocated for daily physical education for their students. Legislators have joined the bandwagon and passed legislation mandating physical education for most K-12 grade students throughout CA and across the nation. However, much to the dismay of physical educators, concerned parents, public health advocates and pediatricians, the education codes mandating physical ed…