With daily physical education no longer the law, Illinois schools revising PE plans

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Illinois has long been viewed as a leader in public school physical education and is considered the first state in the nation to require daily PE, dating back 60 years.

But a change in the law this year gutted the PE rules, making it easier to cut back on classes and excuse more kids from PE. Several schools are already revising their PE plans for next year.

The law cuts daily PE to a minimum of three days per week and, starting in seventh grade, students involved in interscholastic or extracurricular athletic programs could skip PE. Those moves and more were touted as a way to save money, but some fear the changes will push PE to the back burner of the curriculum lineup, even as physical education has been supported by public officials, including former first lady Michelle Obama, as a way to combat childhood obesity.

“This is the sum of all fears,” said Brian Van Mersbergen, president of the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and a member of the kinetic wellness faculty at New Trier Township High School District 203. “The whole idea behind the law was to give school districts a way to reduce costs. It’s really an oxymoron here. We’ve passed this unprecedented funding bill, yet we’re going to reduce (PE) programming?”

The struggles of Illinois.