As an Assemblyperson, you have the duty to represent your constituents; however, you also have the duty of being an educated and informed citizen yourself. It is irresponsible for any elected official to back an Assembly Bill that violates current Ed. Code. It is your duty to educate your constituents as to why the current Ed. Code exists. The Bills (AB 223, AB351, AB554) that are currently being placed before the Assembly are in complete opposition to what the leading governmental agencies (Center for Disease Control, US Department for Health and Human Services, and the Office of the Surgeon General) and research continues to show are in the best interests of educating the whole child. As a leader in the State of California you have a duty to uphold what is in the best interests of the future for all residents of California. The decisions that you make must be based upon data that is acquired through scholarly research—not irrational decisions that are based upon the most vocal citizens that are trying to pass their own special interest policy. We should not be creating laws for the few; otherwise you are perpetuating the same problem that these select community members are complaining about—physical education is only serving the needs of the athletic population.
We recognize that the quality of K-12 physical education across the State of California is in a period of transformation and there is a continual need for reform. We have begun to make strides with the adoption of Content Standards in 2006 and agree that this adoption is not sufficient to validate the importance or value of physical education—“looking good on paper is not enough.” There has been significant amount research published indicating the need for legislation to support the reform of physical education, yet little has been done. Perhaps this is the real issue at hand: Nothing has been done to insure a quality educational experience for the likes of band, ROTC, Cheer, Dance and Interscholastic Athletic students.
The California Department of Education Task Force has made recommendations within Physical Education Matters (a report released by the California Endowment). Some of their recommendations were:
· include PE as a core curriculum
· treat physical activity as essential to all students’ education and health
· maintain and enforce the required 200 minutes of PE in kindergarten and grades 1-5 and the required 400 minutes of PE in grades 6-12 each 10 school days
· increase the minutes by 100 minutes each 10 school days, exclusive of recesses and the lunch period (to align with the National recommendations)
· Do not grant exemptions to these minimum requirements to any school or class.
The CDC School Health Index (SHI)- A Self-Assessment and Planning Guide is designed to support the development of a coordinated school health program. There is language within the guide that specifically addresses the substitution issue:
PA.5 Prohibit substitution for physical education—Does the school prohibit substitution* of other courses or activities for physical education?
*Prohibit substitution means that the school does not allow courses or activities such as interscholastic athletics, ROTC, marching band, cheerleading, or community athletics to be substituted.
How can one of our Nation’s leading organizations, that has our Nation’s health at the forefront of its endeavors, be wrong? You would be remiss to allow uneducated parents to dictate the future of our children. As leaders, you must base your decisions and laws on research and the future development of health in school aged children. If we are to serve the needs of all students then we must create policy that will ensure quality programming for all students, rather than creating exemptions that minimize what our educational system is built upon—developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will support the development of physically literate students that will pursue activity throughout their lifetime.
There are three elements that contribute to PE’s impact on health:
1. quantity of PE (i.e., how many minutes children take PE)
2. quality of PE (i.e., how many minutes are spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity)
3. the number of children enrolled PE
Is it possible that the reason that the needs of the “special interest groups” are not being met in physical education, because you (a collective group of law makers) have done nothing about ensuring these three essential elements to creating a quality physical education learning environment? Policy changes are needed to improve the quantity and qualtity of PE at the state, district and individual school levels.
Promises made about physical education in California have not been kept, and no one is being held accountable for the failures. There is no mechanism for enforcing PE requirements. California schools fall short of national and state recommendations for PE minutes and amount of activity in PE classes. The requirement of two high school PE courses is often negated by exemptions. At what point in time do we begin to hold school and district administrators and school board members accountalble for ensuring the quality educational experiences that the children across the State deserve.
The educational programs that we continue to provide in the State of CA are sub par at most; yet, we continue to eliminate opportunities for our students to learn and develop themselves as a whole person. We must look to other states and what they are doing and why they continue to out perform us.
Your opposition to these Bills is essential to the future health of the State of California. Please oppose these Bills!