Visit the National Academies Press online and register for

TAbLE 5-3 Time Cut from Subjects or Periods in Districts Reporting 
Decreases in Instructional Time
Subject or Period
Average Total 
Instructional 
Time 
Pre-NCLB 
(minutes/week)
Average Total 
Instructional 
Time 
Post-NCLB 
(minutes/week)
Average 
Decrease 
(minutes/week)
Average 
Decrease as 
a Percentage 
of Total 
Instructional 
Time
Social studies
239
164
76
32
Science
226
153
75
33
Art and music
154
100
57
35
Physical education
115
75
40
35
Recess
184
144
50
28
Lunch
*
*
*
*
One or more 
subjects listed
461
318
145
32
NOTE: * = sample size too small to allow reporting of data on minutes per week; NCLB = 
No Child Left Behind.
SOURCE: Center on Education Policy, 2007, District Survey items 18 and 19 (Table IT-18B). 

---

Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
240
 
Educating the Student Body
Exemptions from Physical Education Requirements
The 2012 Shape of the Nation Report includes documentation of the 
multiple reasons students may be exempt from physical education classes. 
Thirty-three states permit school districts or schools to allow students 
to substitute other activities for physical education. The most common 
substitutions are Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), inter-
scholastic sports, marching band, cheerleading, and community sports. 
Twenty-eight states allow schools and school districts to grant exemptions/
waivers from physical education time or credit requirements. Reasons for 
exemptions/waivers include health, physical disability, religious belief, 
and early graduation; six states leave the reasons to the local schools or 
school districts. Although it would seem reasonable that some substitution 
programs such as JROTC or cheerleading might accrue physical activity 
comparable to that from physical education, these programs do not neces-
sarily offer students opportunities to learn the knowledge and skills needed 
for lifelong participation in health-enhancing physical activities. Research 
on the impact of exemptions/waivers from physical education is lacking. 
No evidence currently exists showing that students receive any portion of 
the recommended 60 minutes or more of vigorous- or moderate-intensity 
physical activity through substituted activities sanctioned by their schools.