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Schools Adapting To New P.E. Standards

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By RONNIE BLAIR, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - Students in Florida elementary schools are more physically active this school year.

They have to be.

A new law requires 150 minutes of physical education a week in elementary schools as part of an effort to combat the rising obesity rate among young people.

Meeting the requirements hasn't been that much of a stretch for Pasco County elementary schools because they already offered 90 minutes of P.E. each week, Assistant Superintendent Ruth Reilly said.

In addition, many of the schools also had a 15-minute recess each day.

Students were physically active - often playing on the playground - during recess, but that time didn't count toward the P.E. requirement because the play was unstructured.

The schools solved that problem, Reilly said, by reworking recess from a free-play time to a time spent on structured activities. P.E. teachers provided tips to classroom teachers on how to do that, she said.

The final piece for meeting the P.E. requirement was to use some classroom instructional time on a health-related curriculum, which is allowed under the legislation, Reilly said. Some schools were already doing that anyway as well, she said.

'I think it has gone fairly smoothly,' Reilly said.

The bill requiring 150 minutes of P.E. was sponsored by state Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

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