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participated in school sports, compared with more than half of 
higher-income parents.
•
In lower-income households, nearly one in five parents reported a 
decrease in their child’s participation in school sports because of 
cost.
Colabianchi and colleagues (2012) further determined that the per-
centage of students participating in sports varied with the students’ socio-
economic status. Participation was higher at schools of mid-socioeconomic 
status than at those of low socioeconomic status, and even higher at schools 
of high socioeconomic status compared with those of mid-socioeconomic 
status (see Figure 6-8).
Interscholastic sports have been criticized for perpetuating racial and 
gender segregation (Lee et al., 2007). Further study by Kelly and colleagues 
(2010) and Bocarro and colleagues (2012) confirmed the relationship 

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Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
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