Posted: Monday, July 30, 2007 12:00 am
Albany middle schools already meet goals set down in the bill
Democrat-Herald
The legislature has told Oregon schools to restore physical education to keep children from getting too fat.
It's not clear how much of a difference the mandate makes. In Albany schools, for instance, middle schools already provide the amount of PE demanded by House Bill 3141, according to Maria Delapoer of the school district office.
The bill, which Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed last week, gives schools 10 years to offer at least 150 minutes a week of PE in kindergarten through fifth grade, and 225 minutes in grades six through eight. At least half the time has to be in "actual physical activity."
The instruction, according to the bill, should be designed "to help students develop the knowledge, motor skills, self-management skills, attitudes and confidence needed to adopt and maintain physical activity throughout their lives."
The bill doesn't apply to high schools.
In a statement, the American Heart Association and other supporters said the bill intended "to arrest the obesity epidemic and the growing levels of inactivity of Oregon's youth."
The new legislation provides $1 million, with $860,000 targeted for a grant program to support schools in meeting the new PE standards. The other $140,000 is allocated to fund an inventory of PE instruction among the state's roughly 200 school districts.
Childhood obesity is a serious problem in Oregon, according to the Oregon Sports Authority Foundation. It said 25 percent of Oregon's eighth-graders are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight, and this number has been increasing.
The rise in childhood obesity is partly due to the fact that physical education is no longer a mandatory part of the school day, according to the group.
The foundation says obesity has a high cost: $781 million was spent in Oregon in 2003 on obesity-related medical expenses.
The PE legislation was pushed through the 2007 legislature by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, and others.
According to the bill, 28 percent of eighth-graders and 21 percent of 11th-graders are overweight.
Among Oregon adults, some 22 percent - or one in five - are considered obese, which is the highest rate of any state in the West.
In its preamble, the legislation also says that physical activity offers young people many health benefits in addition to controlling weight.