A locally-backed bill to increase physical education in public schools didn’t make it out of the Minnesota Legislature this year, but District 39A Rep. Bob Dettmer said he’s not giving up on it. The bill, authored by Dettmer and District 53 Sen. Susan Kent, would require districts to adopt nationally recognized standards for physical education curriculum and then review that curriculum and its effectiveness annually as part of a report to the Minnesota Department of Education.
This legislation would treat physical education just like any other academic subject and help ensure Minnesota kids are learning to be active, healthy adults.
Both the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association have been pushing for the passing of this legislation.
“This is an important opportunity for Minnesota to stop talking about childhood obesity and start doing something about it,” ACS Cancer Action Network representative Matt Schafer said.
According to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Project titled “The State of Obesity,” over the last 25 years Minnesota’s obesity rate has more than doubled. Today, 14 percent of Minnesota adolescents are overweight or obese, up from 10 percent in 2004. American Cancer Society studies show more than half of those overweight kids will grow up to become overweight adults. Those adults will, in turn, face higher risk of developing chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The study adds that obesity costs Minnesota an estimated $2.8 billion annually in health care costs.
“While there is no single solution to this serious public health problem, there are proven methods to address it,” Schafer said. “One of the most effective being improved physical education in schools.”
Dettmer cited his 34 years as a teacher and coach as well as his 25 years in the armed forces as reasons for his interest in this legislation. The representative worked with the nonprofit “Mission Readiness: Military Leaders for Kids” to gain some insight into the importance of new physical education requirements.
“Nearly one in three young Americans is too overweight to serve,” Dettmer said. “That is one of the leading reasons why 69 percent of Minnesota’s young adults cannot serve in the military.”
Dettmer said schools should help ensure that children get at least one hour of physical activity every day in order to help young people maintain a healthy weight while building strong muscles, lungs and bones. According to a Mission Readiness report, in an average week, 40 percent of Minnesota ninth graders receive no physical education and less than a quarter of Minnesota high school students get the recommended hour of daily physical activity during the day.
“We need expert physical education teachers at all grade levels that are certified in the area of health,” Dettmer said. “I would also encourage regular teachers to incorporate movement and activity into the classroom.”
Daily quality physical education teaches kids the skills they need to grow up and become healthy, active adults, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association said in a press release. Physical education today is not the gym class or recess of days past; it is comprehensive and engaging and gives all students, no matter their athletic ability, an opportunity to participate, the organizations said.
“Under this legislation, schools would have maximum flexibility to implement the law,” Schafer said. “This is a modest change, maximizing resources already available to school districts.”
Though the bill was not passed by the Legislature this session, Dettmer said it received some support and noted that he plans on presenting it again in 2016.
“We are not going to let this bill simply go away,” he said. “It is too important.”