State board agrees to physical education hearings

POCATELLO (AP) - The state Board of Education has agreed to allow a series of public hearings on a proposal mandating that Idaho high school students take at least two credits worth of physical education classes to graduate.

The board voted 4-3 Thursday in Pocatello to seek public input on the proposal.

But approval came after trustees initially rejected the idea amid a variety of reservations.

Trustees say they prefer letting individual school districts set their own physical education requirements and expressed concerns about the impact a mandate could have on small, rural districts with fewer resources and options for meeting the physical education requirement.

The proposal for adding physical education requirements has the backing of the Idaho Department of Education and would take effect in 2019.

It also has the support of the American Heart Association and the Idaho Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

Advocates see it as an important tool in the battle against teen obesity.

In addition to requirements in high schools, the state would set a minimum of 60 minutes of physical education a week in elementary schools and 200 minutes a week in middle and junior high schools.

The proposed requirements for elementary schools are less than half of that recommended as a best practice by the American Heart Association, along with the National Association of Sport and Physical Education.

Ninety-five percent of elementary schools already provide about 60 minutes.

"It is important to set a requirement that we believe is possible for schools and districts to achieve," Melissa McGrath, spokeswoman for the state education department, told the Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/145raZJ).

After public hearings on the PE plan, the proposal comes back to the Ed Board, probably in November. Even if the state board approves it, the Legislature still must consider the proposal.