HB5397enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB5397 Enrolled LRB098 18839 OMW 53984 b

AN ACT concerning education.

WHEREAS, Regular physical activity is associated with a healthier, longer life and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and some cancers; and

WHEREAS, Physical activity offers young people many health benefits, including improved aerobic endurance and muscular strength, better weight control, and the opportunity to build lean muscle and bone mass and reduce fat; and

WHEREAS, Physically fit children have higher scholastic achievement, better classroom behavior, a greater ability to focus, and less absenteeism than their physically unfit counterparts; and

WHEREAS, One important way to stop this rise in childhood obesity is by establishing lifelong physical activity habits with strong physical education programs and regular physical activity opportunities in our nation's schools, both during and outside of the regular school day; and

WHEREAS, The Enhance Physical Education Task Force, established by Public Act 97-1102, recommended enhancing physical education to increase the amount of time students spend in moderate to vigorous physical activity, with an emphasis on fitness, skill-building, and cooperation; therefore

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section 27-6.5 as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/27-6.5 new)

Sec. 27-6.5. Physical fitness assessments in schools.

(a) As used in this Section, "physical fitness assessment" means a series of assessments to measure aerobic capacity, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility.

(b) To measure the effectiveness of State Goal 20 of the Illinois Learning Standards for Physical Development and Health, beginning with the 2016-2017 school year and every school year thereafter, the State Board of Education shall require all public schools to use a scientifically-based, health-related physical fitness assessment for grades 3 through 12 and periodically report fitness information to the State Board of Education, as set forth in subsections (c) and (e) of this Section, to assess student fitness indicators.

Public schools shall integrate health-related fitness testing into the curriculum as an instructional tool, except in grades before the 3rd grade. Fitness tests must be appropriate to students' developmental levels and physical abilities. The testing must be used to teach students how to assess their fitness levels, set goals for improvement, and monitor progress in reaching their goals. Fitness scores shall not be used for grading students or evaluating teachers.

(c) On or before October 1, 2014, the State Superintendent of Education shall appoint a 15-member stakeholder and expert task force, including members representing organizations that represent physical education teachers, school officials, principals, health promotion and disease prevention advocates and experts, school health advocates and experts, and other experts with operational and academic expertise in the measurement of fitness. The task force shall make recommendations to the State Board of Education on the following:

(1) methods for ensuring the validity and uniformity of reported physical fitness assessment scores, including assessment administration protocols and professional development approaches for physical education teachers;

(2) how often physical fitness assessment scores should be reported to the State Board of Education;

(3) the grade levels within elementary, middle, and high school categories for which physical fitness assessment scores should be reported to the State Board of Education;

(4) the minimum fitness indicators that should be reported to the State Board of Education, including, but not limited to, a score for aerobic capacity (for grades 4 through 12); muscular strength; endurance; and flexibility;

(5) the demographic information that should accompany the scores, including, but not limited to, grade and gender;

(6) the development of protocols regarding the protection of students' confidentiality and individual information and identifiers; and

(7) how physical fitness assessment data should be reported by the State Board of Education to the public, including potential correlations with student academic achievement, attendance, and discipline data and other recommended uses of the reported data.

The State Board of Education shall provide administrative and other support to the task force.

The task force shall submit its recommendations on physical fitness assessments on or before April 1, 2015. The task force may also recommend methods for assessing student progress on State Goals 19 and 21 through 24 of the Illinois Learning Standards for Physical Development and Health. The task force is dissolved on April 30, 2015.

The provisions of this subsection (c), other than this sentence, are inoperative after March 31, 2016.

(d) On or before December 31, 2015, the State Board of Education shall use the recommendations of the task force under subsection (c) of this Section to adopt rules for the implementation of physical fitness assessments by each public school for the 2016-2017 school year and every school year thereafter.

(e) On or before September 1, 2016, the State Board of Education shall adopt rules for data submission by school districts and develop a system for collecting and reporting the aggregated fitness information from the physical fitness assessments. This system shall also support the collection of data from school districts that use a fitness testing software program.

(f) School districts may report the aggregate findings of physical fitness assessments by grade level and school to parents and members of the community through typical communication channels, such as Internet websites, school newsletters, school board reports, and presentations. Districts may also provide individual fitness assessment reports to students' parents.

(g) Nothing in this Section precludes schools from implementing a physical fitness assessment before the 2016-2017 school year or from implementing more robust forms of a physical fitness assessment.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.