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Educating the Student Body
and parents. It creates an atmosphere in which physical activity is appreci-
ated, encouraged, and rewarded by all these groups. Similarly, inactivity is 
discouraged and minimized. School buildings, outdoor grounds and play-
grounds, indoor and outdoor equipment, and streets and pathways leading 
to the school from the surrounding neighborhood encourage and enable 
all persons to be more physically active. Moreover, the school is part of a 
larger system that encompasses community partnerships to help these goals 
be realized.
Potential Actions
For state legislatures and state departments of education, potential 
actions to implement this recommendation include
•
adopting and/or strengthening physical education and recess poli-
cies so they align with existing national recommendations for total 
number of weekly minutes of physical education, as well as requiring 
students to spend at least half (
≥
50 percent) of the class time engaged 
in vigorous- or moderate-intensity physical activity while maintain-
ing an appropriate emphasis on skills development;
•
adopting and/or strengthening policies on before- and after-school 
programs so they align with national recommendations for physical 
activity;
•
adopting school siting policies that encourage locating schools 
within residential neighborhoods; and
•
working with national- and state-level parent-teacher organizations 
to mobilize and create engagement in this effort. 
For school districts and schools, potential actions include
•
continuing to strengthen policies by requiring time for physical edu-
cation and recess that aligns with national recommendations;
•
increasing the amount of time youth spend in physical activity by 
providing brief classroom breaks or incorporating physical activity 
directly into academic sessions;
•
offering intramural sports and physical activity clubs before or after 
school and helping make such programs accessible to all students;
•
adopting joint- or shared-use agreements allowing school facilities to 
be used for physical activity programs during nonschool hours;
•
identifying key champions in schools to lead efforts to increase 
physical activity; and
•
working with parent groups and parent-teacher associations to cre-
ate a demand for and mobilize efforts to increase physical activity.

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Recommendations
 
369
For municipalities, local governments, and urban planners, potential 
actions include
•
considering renovating schools already located in existing neighbor-
hoods rather than building new schools away from where students 
live;
•
incorporating strategies for traffic calming (e.g., lower speed limits, 
speed humps or tables, sidewalks with buffers, medians) and traffic 
control (e.g., marked crosswalks, traffic lights with pedestrian sig-
nals) into community planning to ensure safe active travel routes for 
students; and
•
adopting school policies that encourage locating schools within resi-
dential neighborhoods.