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Educating the Student Body
POLICIES THAT AFFECT THE QUALITY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Instructional opportunities for physical activity and physical education 
are mandated by most states. In comparison with data prior to 2006, more 
states have developed mandates for physical education at both the elemen-
tary and secondary school levels. However, most mandates lack a specified 
time allocation that ensures meeting the NASPE recommendation of 150 
and 225 minutes per week for elementary and secondary schools, respec-
tively (McCullick et al., 2012), despite the fact that physical education has 
been considered a cornerstone for developing schoolwide multicomponent 
interventions to address the issue of physical inactivity in schools. Some 
obstacles to the implementation of quality physical activity are listed in 
Box 5-11.
According to Title IX of the No Child Left Behind Act (Part A Sec 
9101-11), core academic subjects include “English, reading or language 
arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, eco-