Who knew that the schools counted time walking to and from class as a part of the required exercise time? I never knew that, but I am really glad this law addresses that ...

http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20080416/NEWS/42355728

I never that either..wow! I wonder if dressing out for PE like in middle school is counted towards PE time as well??

i have a whole different take on PE taking up time in the school day. i think that if a child is involved in a sporting activity such as baseball, softball, soccer, tennis (the list could go on), he or she should be able to get a coach to sign off on the fact that they get amble physical activity and then allow the student to use the time that would have been dedicated to PE for some other academic or learning time.

PE is such a waste of time for my daughter. they actually play dodgeball (which I learned yesterday that elementary school principals are banning at record numbers, stupid). she could devote that time to getting help in the higher math classes that she is struggling in or take a creative class like drama or sewing if she wished.

i understand PE is important for kids who get NO physical activity outside of school but i see it as once again, something my kids are being held accountable to because the school feels they need to make up for what some parents do not enforce at home, physical activity.

I think that is a wonderful idea Softballmom! You are right that gym is a great thing for those students that don't get the physical activity they need elsewhere. But to force students that are already plenty active outside of gym to take up academic space with gym seems kind of silly.

Wow, this is great news in my opinion. I think in elementary school letting the kids have 30 minutes during their day to blow off steam and be active will only enhance their time in the class room. How many kids have trouble focusing and sitting still to learn. We hear about it all the time. This has always been one of my hang-ups with the public schools. I can understand in high school needing to focus 30 more minutes on academics but PE at the elementary/middle school age is going could help decrease the number of kids who get diagnosed with ADHD/ADD, obesity, etc. My five year old wears me out everyday after Pre-K we spend about 2 hours outside because he is just bursting with energy. Anyway, I think this is wonderful news. Physical fitness is so important on so many levels.

And just imagine if the schools had mandatory exercise for 30 minutes daily and they removed all the junk food from their cafeterias. I don't recall seeing any vending machines at my kids' school, but at their last school, there was a soda machine at an elementary school!

Alachua county just finished an extensive revamp of their healthy programs. elementary school lunches were revised, nothing fried, reduced fat content...

MamaC - i think you are confusing PE with recess. everyone needs a break, total down time to do whatever they feel like doing. regrouping time. and i also believe PE is important in elementary school. but have you ever observed the PE class in elementary school. they spend so much time trying to organize everyone and explaining what they are doing during the class that there is very little actual activity time. some programs are better than others. my thoughts regarding eliminating PE were related to high school PE only.