Tacoma schools run afoul of PE law

DEBBY ABE; The News Tribune
Last updated: July 25th, 2005 09:44 AM (PDT)

“We were really surprised. We thought we were meeting the requirements. Apparently, we’re not,” said Karyn Clarke, adding that the time devoted to physical education has been the practice since before she became assistant superintendent for elementary education.

One reason might have been the perception that recess could count toward the state requirement; it doesn’t because PE must be instructional time, said Gaye Lantz, Tacoma’s executive director of curriculum and instruction, which schedules PE teachers at elementary schools.

“This was a discovery,” Lantz said. “It was brought to light by this focus on health and nutrition.”

State law requires students to take an average of 100 minutes per week each year of physical education in first through eighth grades, unless students request a waiver.

First- through third-graders in Tacoma get PE 25 minutes twice a week, while fourth- and fifth-graders receive 45 minutes once a week. Middle school students meet the state rule by taking three semesters of PE during middle school.

Tacoma’s proposed fitness and nutrition policy would require first- through eighth-graders to meet the state’s 100-minute requirement of “fitness education,” which includes physical fitness, nutrition and wellness activities.

High schools must offer health and fitness classes for each grade, fulfilling the state requirement of at least one credit (or two semesters) of PE in each grade.

Tacoma’s elementary schools aren’t alone in noncompliance. In a 2002 survey conducted by the State Board of Education, about 36 percent of the 135 responding school districts admitted they weren’t meeting the first- through eighth-grade requirement.

In January, Dieringer, Fife, Puyallup, Sumner, Tacoma and University Place school districts told The News Tribune they provided less than 100 minutes a week of PE to most or all of their elementary students.

Franklin Pierce and Bethel said they met the requirement.

“I’ve literally had elementary principals approach me and say we’re not meeting the 100 minutes,” said Larry Davis, executive director of the State Board of Education. “Most of the time, they say, ‘We’re scratching out the most time we can to ratchet up math and reading scores.’”

But there’s no consequence in the law or state board rules for violating the rule. Thus, Davis said, “There’s no point in me trying to play PE traffic cop because the board has no penalty.”

Tacoma will work to comply with the requirement, but it could take years, Lantz said. Schools are trying to squeeze 90-minute daily reading block, other academia and 40-minute lunch-and-recess break into six hours, one of the region’s shortest school days. Besides, many elementary schools don’t have enough gym or activity space to offer the required PE time to all students, she noted.

“We’ll have to figure out what changes in our system we can make to move toward compliance,” Lantz said.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

The Tacoma School Board is scheduled to vote on the district’s proposed nutrition and physical fitness policy at its next meeting, 6 p.m. Thursday in the district Central Administration Building, 601 S. Eighth St., Tacoma, in the fourth-floor auditorium. To see the board agenda, go to http://www.tacoma.k12.wa.us/.

Debbie Cafazzo contributed to this report. Debby Abe: 253-597-8694
debby.abe@thenewstribune.com

Originally published: July 25th, 2005 12:01 AM (PDT)