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§ 16-1-5 
(2004) 
assigns the 
Commissioner 
of Elementary 
and 
Secondary 
Education to 
establish an 
assessment 
program 
in areas of 
health and 
fitness.
The minimum 
certification 
requirement 
for prospective 
physical 
education 
teachers is 
a bachelor’s 
degree that 
must include 24 
semester hours 
of physical 
education 
coursework.
Statute § 16-
22-4 (2008) 
requires all 
children in 
grades 1-12 
attending 
public schools 
to receive 
instruction 
in health 
and physical 
education for 
an average 
of at least 20 
minutes in 
each school 
day. 
No graduation 
requirement.
No state policy.
No state policy.
No state policy.
Statute § 16-2-9(a)(25) 
(2005), Statute § 16-21-
28 (2005), and Statute 
§ 16-7.1-2(h) (2005) require 
the school committee of 
each district to establish a 
district-wide coordinated 
school health and wellness 
subcommittee, chaired by a 
member of the full school 
committee, to implement 
policies and plans to meet 
Section 204 requirements. 

---

Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
Appendix C
 
459
continued
State
State Statute
and/or Policy
Waivers
Curriculum
Assessment
Certification
Graduation 
Requirement
Recess
Athletics
Walk/Bike
Wellness Policy
Pennsylvania
Students at the 
elementary, 
middle, and high 
school levels shall 
receive planned 
instruction 
in physical 
education aligned 
with the academic 
standards 
according to 022 
PA Code 4.27 
(1999). Further 
details of the 
requirements at 
the elementary 
level can be found 
in 022 PA Code 
4.21 (1999), at 
the middle school 
in 022 PA Code 
4.22 (1999), and 
at the high school 
level in 022 
PA Code 4.23 
(1999).
Parents/
guardians may 
remove the child 
from instruction 
when it conflicts 
with religious 
beliefs. 
A written 
request must be 
submitted to the 
school.
Academic 
Standards for 
Health, Safety, 
and Physical 
Education 
(2003) describe 
what students 
should know 
and be able to 
do by the end 
of grades 3, 
6, 9, and 12. 
The standards 
are mandated 
and binding. 
Schools are 
not required to 
follow a specific 
curriculum but 
are required 
to use the 
standards as 
a curricular 
framework for 
development 
of the local 
curriculum.
No state 
policy.
24 P.S. 12-
1202 (no date 
available) 
requires that 
teachers be 
certified in the 
field in which 
they teach.
022 PA Code 
57.31 (1988) 
requires the 
completion 
of one health 
and physical 
education 
credit.
No state policy.
022 PA Code 
4.27 (1999) 
requires students 
of both sexes to 
have equal access 
in interscholastic 
and intramural 
programs.
No state policy.
Local education agencies are 
required to complete a Local 
Wellness Policy Checklist 
and submit it to the state 
Department of Education 
with their Wellness Policy.
Rhode Island
Statute § 16-22-4 
(2008) requires 
all children in 
grades 1-12 
attending public 
schools to receive 
instruction 
in health 
and physical 
education for an 
average of at least 
20 minutes in 
each school day.
No state policy.
Statute § 16-
22-4 (2008) 
requires the 
physical 
education 
curriculum to 
be based on 
the physical 
education 
standards of 
the Rhode 
Island Physical 
Education 
Framework: 
Supporting 
Physically 
Active Lifestyles 
Through 
Quality Physical 
Education 
(2003) by 
September 2012.
Statute 
§ 16-1-5 
(2004) 
assigns the 
Commissioner 
of Elementary 
and 
Secondary 
Education to 
establish an 
assessment 
program 
in areas of 
health and 
fitness.
The minimum 
certification 
requirement 
for prospective 
physical 
education 
teachers is 
a bachelor’s 
degree that 
must include 24 
semester hours 
of physical 
education 
coursework.
Statute § 16-
22-4 (2008) 
requires all 
children in 
grades 1-12 
attending 
public schools 
to receive 
instruction 
in health 
and physical 
education for 
an average 
of at least 20 
minutes in 
each school 
day. 
No graduation 
requirement.
No state policy.
No state policy.
No state policy.
Statute § 16-2-9(a)(25) 
(2005), Statute § 16-21-
28 (2005), and Statute 
§ 16-7.1-2(h) (2005) require 
the school committee of 
each district to establish a 
district-wide coordinated 
school health and wellness 
subcommittee, chaired by a 
member of the full school 
committee, to implement 
policies and plans to meet 
Section 204 requirements. 

---

Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School
460
 
Educating the Student Body
TAbLE C-1 Continued
State
State Statute
and/or Policy
Waivers
Curriculum
Assessment
Certification
Graduation 
Requirement
Recess
Athletics
Walk/Bike
Wellness Policy
South 
Carolina
Code 59-10-10 
(2005) mandates 
that students in 
grades K-5 be 
provided with at 
least 150 minutes 
of physical 
activity per week, 
90 minutes of 
which must 
be in physical 
education.
Code 59-10-10 
(2005) allows 
students in 
grades K-5 
to be exempt 
from physical 
education 
and activity 
requirements if 
they meet the 
standards for 
exemptions set 
forth in Code 
59-29-80. 
Exemptions 
are granted 
for students 
involved in a 
military or naval 
JROTC.
Waiver from 
the local school 
board of trustees 
for medical 
or religious 
reasons. 
The Board 
of Education 
adopted the 
Physical 
Education 
Curriculum 
Standards 
(2008). 
The state does 
not require 
schools to 
follow a specific 
curriculum, nor 
does it provide 
one.
Code 59-10-
10 requires 
each student’s 
individual 
fitness status 
to be reported 
to their 
parent or 
legal guardian 
during their 
5th-grade, 
8th-grade, 
and high 
school 
physical 
education 
courses.
Bachelor’s 
degree, 
certification 
at the early 
childhood, 
elementary, 
middle, 
secondary, or 
PreK-12 level, 
minimum 
qualifying 
score on the 
content-area 
examination, 
and 30 semester 
hours in physical 
education 
coursework.
One unit 
(out of 24) 
of physical 
education or 
JROTC for a 
high school 
diploma, per 
State Board 
of Education 
R 43-259 
(2003).
The Position 
Statement on 
School Recess of 
the Governor’s 
Council on 
Physical Fitness 
recommends 
that schools allot 
time each day for 
supervised recess 
for elementary 
students. It also 
states that recess 
should not be 
denied as a form 
of punishment.
State Board 
of Education 
Regulation R 
43-244 (1980) 
prohibits schools 
serving grades 1-6 
from providing 
competitive 
sports “of a 
varsity pattern 
with scheduled 
league games and 
championships.” 
State Board 
of Education 
Regulation R 
43-244.1 (1988) 
and Code 59-
39-160 (no date 
available) outline 
the academic 
requirements 
for students in 
grades 9-12 to 
participate in 
interscholastic 
activities.
Code 59-17-
150 (2004) 
requires 
municipal 
and county 
governing 
bodies to 
work with 
school districts 
to identify 
barriers and 
hazards to 
children 
walking or 
bicycling to 
and from 
school. 
Code 59-10-330 (2005) 
requires each school district 
to establish and maintain 
a Coordinated School 
Health Advisory Council. 
The council is required to 
assess, plan, implement, and 
monitor district and school 
health policies and programs, 
including the development of 
a district wellness policy.
South Dakota
Physical 
education is not 
required at any 
specific grade 
level.
No state policy.
The State Board 
of Education 
approved 
voluntary South 
Dakota Physical 
Education 
Content 
Standards 
(2000), which 
are organized 
in grade-level 
clusters K-2, 
3-5, 6-8, and 
9-12. The state 
does not require 
or recommend 
a specific 
curriculum 
framework 
or curriculum 
materials.
No state 
policy.
Bachelor’s 
degree, with 2 
semester hours 
of first aid and 
health. 
For prospective 
teachers in high 
school, the 
state requires 
a bachelor’s 
degree, with at 
least 24 semester 
hours in health 
coursework.
Beginning 
with students 
who are 
freshmen 
in the fall 
of 2013, 
one-half unit 
of physical 
education 
is required 
(2009).
No state policy.
Statute 13-36-4 
(2003) gives the 
school board 
power to delegate 
the control, 
supervision, and 
regulation of 
any high school 
interscholastic 
activities to any 
voluntary, non-
profit association. 
Statute 13-36-7 
(2003) deems any 
student enrolled 
in a public school 
district eligible to