S 651 PLAY Every Day Act 2/15/07

To help promote the national recommendation of physical activity to kids, families, and communities across the United States. The Secretary of Education, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall provide grants to State health departments to enable the State health departments to work in partnership with eligible community-based coalitions to plan and implement model comm…

A new law that will take effect in 2017 will require all Oregon schoolchildren to work toward physical fitness at school.
Once taken for granted as a by product of children's playtime, physical fitness is now a state mandate for school kids through eighth grade.Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a bill last week requiring 150 minutes of physical education a week for grades kindergarten through 5 and 225 minutes a week for grades 6 through 8 in an att…

In the five years since a federal law (No Child Left Behind) mandated an expansion of reading and math tests, 44 percent of school districts nationwide have made deep cutbacks in social studies, science, art and music lessons, physical education, recess in elementary grades and have even slashed lunchtime, a new survey has found.

The Center on Education Policy found that 36 percent of school districts surveyed cut elementary class time for social…

Legislation that went into effect this month is meant to shore up physical education in California. As of July 1, students have to pass the state fitness test, which is administered in grades five, seven and nine, in order to be eligible for an exemption from physical education in high school. Previously, high school physical education exemptions were considered routine for grades 11 & 12.

All high school students are required to take two ye…

Among the new laws that took effect in states across the country July 1:HEALTH: New York City bans trans fats. Massachusetts' sweeping health care insurance law takes full effect, with everyone required to have health insurance - either with state help or purchased privately.CHILDREN'S HEALTH: California bans soda sales on school campuses during school hours, and puts new limits on sugar and fat content in school food. Florida starts a o…

Oregon's elementary and middle-school students would have physical education requirements phased in during the next decade as a result of final legislative approval of a bill Tuesday, according to the Statesman Journal.
House Bill 3141 passed the Senate on a 28-1 vote and went to Gov. Ted Kulongoski. It includes $1 million for Senate President Peter Courtney's physical-education proposals, which would require 150 minutes per week for elem…

The 2008 federal discretionary budget request for the United States is $1.075 trillion. At the link below, you can find a graph that depicts the president’s budget request for 2008.. It will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress, ideally by October 1, to begin the next year. The discretionary budget includes spending that must be approved by Congress every year. It is paid for largely with your federal income taxes and includes all depar…

Congresswoman Mary Bono (CA-45) joined forces today on the issue of children's health by urging Congress to support the Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act (IMPACT Act), H.R. 2677. The bill, which was introduced today by Bono and Congresswomen Nita M. Lowey (NY-18), Kay Granger (TX-12) and Congressman Jim Ramstad (MN-3), encourages cross-sector collaborations for improving the health of young people and ensures that community partne…

Last October, Education Minister Gerard Kennedy, of Ontario Canada, announced a mandatory 20-minute minimum of physical activity in schools each day. In addition, schools were invited to take the healthy school challenge by starting a new healthy activity. More than 1,200 schools in Ontario have accepted the challenge. In addition to in-class activities and gym class three times a week, the whole school goes for a 20-minute morning walk in the …

National Health-Through-Fitness Day in March a success. Advocates walked the halls of Congress campaigning for two physical activity initiatives - the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) and the PHIT (Personal Health Investment Today) Bill.

PEP provides grants to local school districts to purchase equipment and train teachers in innovative physical education methods. The PEP program has successfully enhanced K-12 physical education …

Wamp, Simmons pump up exercise for school kids.U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., joined by fitness guru Richard Simmons, on unveiled House legislation aimed at making physical education a part of the federal No Child Left Behind education law’s core curriculum. This year Congress must reauthorize the measure, which uses annual standardized tests to hold schools accountable in science and math. He said the lack of physical activity among the nation…