Although state law requires physical education at every grade level, no time minimum is specified, and districts looking to add instruction time for academic courses have been known to chip away at gym classes. However, several bills are before the Legislature that would restore exercise’s standing.
One bill would base state standards on national standards, and establish a physical education coordinator for the state. Another bill spells out grade-by-grade standards. A third would set up a pilot program to provide matching grants to at least six public schools to expand their PE programs.
“I really feel that the state does need to step in,’’ said Susan Bradbury, the wellness coordinator in Holliston’s school system.
But even people who agree that more physical activity would be a great goal say there just isn’t time or funding for it, especially as school districts face mounting pressure to meet rigorous academic standards.
“We are trying to put more sand into a bottle that is already full,’’ said Thomas Scott, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents. “It’s an issue of time more than anything, and time is money.’’
The state had a minimum requirement for phys ed classes before the Education Reform Act of 1993 ushered in a new era of high-stakes standardized tests, and school districts struggled to help students do well on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exams.
But it was a mistake to focus so heavily on academic subjects to the exclusion of exercise, according to Patricia Degon, director of health, physical education, and family and consumer science for the Shrewsbury school district.
“We’re seeing the impact on a significant percentage of students with sedentary lives, and the obesity that is also parallel with that,’’ she said.
Thanks to the $1.4 million grant received last month, Shrewsbury schools will use recess and after-school time as well as the regular school day to help boost physical education far beyond what they have now, Degon said.
