Advocacy

Advocacy Update- February 2025:

In the last year, Indiana has experienced some changes to the high school graduation requirements for Health and Physical Education.

Due to our advocacy efforts in the first round of public feedback to the State Board of Education, an improvement was made from the original proposal. Health is again a required credit, as is one credit of Physical Education (down from the existing two required sections). No additional changes were made despite our testimony and feedback in the second round. We were disappointed that the second PE credit was not restored, but the final rule was approved with just one Health and one PE credit required for graduation. 

THE WORK WE HAVE TO DO NOW IS IN OUR DISTRICTS!

The State Board of Education has NOT clarified if they will allow an expansion of waivers to include credit for academic clubs and whether they will allow waivers to also apply to Health and Wellness. Indiana is a local control state and the SBOE already planted the seed by telling administrators during the first draft that they could cut PE teachers and expand waivers to include Health. Many districts are already taking large liberties with their application of the current waiver language (in many cases, not requiring any demonstration of PE standards mastery in order to earn credit), and nobody is stopping them.

There is room for us to suggest additional elective health and physical education classes to earn the required graduation credits in more individualized ways according to students interests and needs. These courses would be available right in the school without requiring additional strain on family resources, and they could save the jobs of physical educators. 

We asked SBOE during the second round of feedback to do the following with no response, so now it is upon us to advocate for these in our own districts:

• Clarify that Health is not a waivable course, ensuring our students receive basic skills in health literacy to navigate the physical, social, mental, and emotional challenges they may face in life.
• Remove waiver allowances for Physical Education (or prohibit starting them) so students get their credit from a licensed physical educator trained in Physical Education standards, rather than a coach or band director.
• If keeping waivers for PE, define more clearly that the waiver must demonstrate clear evidence of students meeting Indiana Academic Standards for Physical Education. (INSHAPE would gladly help develop guidance that addresses college and career readiness).
• Encourage elective credits in Physical Education and Health and Wellness so students are prepared for a healthy lifetime ensuring greater productivity and fewer medical costs for employers.
• Encourage schools to create elective health and physical education classes that meet credit requirements and address mental, social, and physical well-being (again, INSHAPE would gladly help develop guidance).

We recommend that health and physical educators take the following steps to protect HPE positions in your school and district.

• Propose new HPE elective courses that will address mental, social, and physical well-being and needs, and potentially work and career training, according to your district’s processes. We’ve listed some ideas we compiled here.
• WORK/CAREER: Lifeguarding, Sports Officiating (RefReps can provide a curriculum so you can get teens licensed!), Responding to Emergencies, Sports Medicine, Sports Performance, Health Careers, Kinesiology, Leadership and Coaching, Sports Leadership, Intro to Public Health, Environmental Health, Anatomy & Physiology
• ADVANCED P.E.: Team Sports, Recreation & Leisure Sports, Lifetime Sports, Individual Sports, Personal Lifetime Fitness, Adventure Education, Outdoor Recreation, Global Physical Activity, Strength & Conditioning, Speed & Agility, Mobility and Flexibility, Women’s Fitness, Partners in PE (Unified), Exercise on Wheels, Dance, Group Fitness, Yoga, Movement to Music, Fitness Walking, Circus Arts, Mind-Body Connections
• ADVANCED HEALTH: Health Literacy, Drugs and Social Issues, Media Mindfulness, Mindfulness, Global Wellness Approaches, Nutrition and Meal Planning, Consumer Health, Adulting 101
• Existing IDOE Course Codes and descriptions are listed in this document on p. 90-92.
• Advertise new and existing HPE elective courses to students and parents to encourage enrollment demand. Focus on the lifetime benefits of the standards that will be met. Post on your personal and school social media pages, send messages to parents about options, talk to your PTA and education foundations, local media, etc.
• Initiate conversations with administrators as soon as possible about the lifetime implications of our standards and the damage that could be caused by expanding waivers to bypass the standards.
• You can additionally advocate for our profession (at all levels) by communicating the quality health and physical education taking place through bulletin boards, newsletters, and conversations with colleagues, administrators, and parents displaying standards and evidence of student learning, quotes from kids about what they’ve gained, and photos or work samples of students mastering academic standards.

IT IS VITAL that we implement a PE curriculum that is standards-based, differentiated, and utilizing best practices and learning environment for our students to develop psychomotor skills, knowledge, social interaction, and physical literacy. With regard to Health, we need to implement a curriculum that is skill- and standards-based, includes best practices, and is full of learning experiences that prepare students to navigate a lifetime of health challenges.

BOTTOM LINE: We have to prove our worth, from Pre-K to lifetime. If we don’t, others outside our profession will deem our courses unnecessary and they will be eliminated from schools.

The Benefits of Health & Physical Education to Students

Positive relationship with academic achievement and test scores.
Positive association with attention, concentration and on-task behavior.
Reduces discipline referrals and participation in high-risk behaviors.
Strategy for reducing childhood obesity.
Encourages lifetime healthy habits.