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Educating the Student Body
BOX 5-4 
National Physical Activity Plan: Strategy 2
The National Physical Activity Plan’s Strategy 2 is as follows:
Strategy 2: Develop and implement state and school district policies 
requiring school accountability for the quality and quantity of physi-
cal education and physical activity programs.
Tactics:
1. Advocate for binding requirements for PreK-12 standards-based 
physical education that address state standards, curriculum time, 
class size, and employment of certified, highly qualified physical 
education teachers in accordance with national standards and 
guidelines, such as those published by the National Association 
for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). 
2. Advocate for local, state and national standards that emphasize 
provision of high levels of physical activity in physical education 
(e.g., 50 percent of class time in vigorous- or moderate-intensity 
physical activity). 
sampled (90 percent) provided physical education, the percentage declined 
through middle school and high school, such that only 44 percent of high 
schools provided physical education to seniors. In most schools (92 per-
cent), classes were taught by teachers certified to teach physical education. 
More than 76 percent of elementary schools provided daily recess for 
children, and 31 percent had instituted a policy prohibiting teachers from 
withholding children from participating in recess for disciplinary reasons. 
In 56 percent of elementary schools that had implemented a CSPAP, physi-
cal activity was encouraged between lessons/classes; in 44 percent it was 
integrated into academic lessons; and in 43 percent the school day started 
with physical activity programs.
The percentage of schools that offered intramural sports clubs to at 
least 25 percent of students declined from 62 percent of middle schools to 

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Approaches to Physical Education in Schools
 
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3. Enact federal legislation, such as the FIT Kids Act, to require 
school accountability for the quality and quantity of physical 
education and physical activity programs. 
4. Provide local, state, and national funding to ensure that schools 
have the resources (e.g., facilities, equipment, appropriately 
trained staff) to provide high-quality physical education and 
activity programming. Designate the largest portion of funding 
for schools that are underresourced. Work with states to identify 
areas of greatest need. 
5. Develop and implement state-level policies that require school 
districts to report on the quality and quantity of physical educa-
tion and physical activity programs. 
6. Develop and implement a measurement and reporting system to 
determine the progress of states toward meeting this strategy. 
Include in this measurement and reporting system data to moni-
tor the benefits and adaptations made or needed for children 
with disabilities. 
7. Require school districts to annually collect, monitor, and track 
students’ health-related fitness data, including body mass index.
SOURCE: National Physical Activity Plan, 2010.
50 percent of high school for males, and from 53 to 40 percent, respec-
tively, for females. Interscholastic sports were offered in 89 percent of high 
schools. Among them, approximately 70 percent involved at least 25 per-
cent of the male student population participating and 58 percent involved 
at least 25 percent of the female student population participating. Sixty-five 
percent of high schools had “cut” policies, which could limit the enrollment 
of students in interscholastic sports.