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Requirements for the 2009-2010 School Year

TEA Summary of New Legislation Affecting Health and Physical Education

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has provided a summary of the legislation affecting health and physical education.

New School Health & PE Requirements for the 2009-2010 School Year*

School Health Advisory Councils (SHACs) – SB 283, TEC §28.004
Meet 4 times per year, minimally.
Contain a minimum of 5 members.
Report directly to the school board at least once annually with detailed account of SHAC activities and recommendations.
Appoint parent as chair or co-chair.
Recommend indicators for evaluating effectiveness of Coordinated School Health Programs.

Coordinated School Health (CSH) – SB 892, TEC §11.253

Develop goals and objectives based on fitness assessment data, academic performance, attendance rates, academic disadvantages, the use of success of any method to ensure students are reaching required moderate or vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and any other indicator recommended by SHAC.
Include in all Campus Improvement Plans (CIPS) for elementary middle and junior high school campuses.

Physical Activity – SB 891, TEC §28.002

Students enrolled in all full-day prekindergarten must participate in MVPA for a minimum of 30 minutes per day or 135 minutes per week.

Physical Education – SB 891, TEC §28.002

“Curriculum must be sequential, developmentally appropriate, and designed, implemented, and evaluated to enable students to develop the motor, self-management, and other skills, knowledge, attitudes, and confidence necessary to participate in physical activity throughout life.”
Develop specific district goals and objectives for accomplishing the above, including (to the extent practicable) student/teacher ratios that are small enough to enable the district to carry out the purposes of and requirements for the physical activity requirements in grades prekindergarten-eighth and to ensure of the safety of all students.
If the student/teacher ratio established in a district is greater than 45 to 1 in a physical education class, the district must identify the manner in which the safety of students will be maintained.

Health Education – SB 283, TEC §28.004

Written notice must be sent home before each school year indicating whether or not the district will provide human sexuality instruction to students.
If human sexuality instruction is provided, a summary of its content, the requirements established under state law, a statement of the parent’s right to review the materials, the option to remove the student without penalty, and information describing opportunities for parental involvement in the development of the curriculum (SHAC) must be included in the written notice.

High School Graduation Requirements – HB 3, §TEC 28.002

Chart of revised high school graduation requirements may be found on the following TEA websites:
- For students who entered grade 9 before 2007-08
- For students who entered grade 9 in 2007-08 or later

*This list does not represent all of the new requirements related to school health. Future communication from TEA will provide additional information that has not been included in this document. Inquiries can be directed to Marissa Rathbone, Director of School Health, at the Texas Education Agency at Marissa.Rathbone@tea.state.tx.us.

TAHPERD History

Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance

A Concise History

Contributed by: Jack Watson

   The day was November 9, 1923 when Mary Bell Smith, a teacher at North Dallas High School, sent a letter to physical educators throughout Texas inviting them to meet in Fort Worth during the Annual Convention of the Texas State Teachers Association. The purpose for meeting was to get acquainted, exchange ideas, and form an organization to promote physical education. Twenty-two persons met at Fort Worth’s Westbrook Hotel on November 30, 1923, paid one dollar for dues, and pledged their service to the work of the new organization. At the second meeting of the now-named Texas State Physical Education Association in San Antonio’s Menger Hotel, it was accepted as a section of the Texas State Teachers Association. Mary Bell Smith was elected to continue as President. The primary effort of the group in these first years was to get a law passed requiring physical education in the public schools of Texas. Dr. David K. Brace of The University of Texas spearheaded this effort. Brace was the Association’s President from 1927-29. The advocacy effort resulted in a law making physical education compulsory in schools effective in September 1930.

   The 1930s was a decade of growth in student membership. Important innovations included the establishment of a News Bulletin and the beginning of student membership in the Association. The advent of World War II, when state meetings were suspended, had a devastating effect on membership. In the later half of the 1940s, a strong growth in membership occurred building a solid foundation for the Association. The late 1940s also witnessed the first official State Director of Health and Physical Education along with a Texas Department of Education Bulletin, and a Handbook of Instruction in Health and Physical Education in Schools of Texas.

   These innovations were followed by the appointment in 1954 of Dr. Lynn McCraw as Executive Secretary-Treasurer. Dr. McCraw, along with his wife, Tillie, maintained financial and membership records for the Association and published and edited the Journal until 1985. In 1956, the Association began a convention separate from the Texas State Teachers Association but continued to meet as a section of that organization. The first separate convention was held in the First Baptist Church in Waco.

   Through the 1960s, the Association continued efforts to improve health and physical education programs in schools through cooperative efforts with the Texas Education Agency and the Legislature. The Student Section developed an operating code and the Texas Foundation for Education in Health and Physical Education was created.

   An increased role for student members began in 1970 with participation in Division and Section committees and in the Representative Assembly. Health Education and Dance were approved for separate teacher certification during the 1970s. The popular PEPI Project was also begun in the 1970s.

   Along with continued emphasis on improving the status of physical education, health education, and dance in public schools, a number of significant events occurred in the 1980s. Jump Rope for Heart, the first Leadership Conference, the Fitness Conference (now called the Summer Conference), all began in this decade. The 1980s also saw the creation of the Trustees, the David K. Brace Award, the TAHPERD Scholar Award, and the first publication of the Membership Directory. Most significant was the retirement of Dr. Lynn McCraw as Executive Director and the appointment of Dr. Quentin Christian to that position.

   The state office moved from the Anna Hiss Gymnasium on The University of Texas campus to its present location on La Calma Drive in Austin in 1992. A highlight of this decade was the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Association at the Diamond Jubilee Convention in Houston in 1998.

   During the beginning of the new millennium, Quentin Christian retired in 2002, after 17 years of exemplary leadership. Dr. Diana Everett assumed the role of Executive Director. During her 7 year tenure, a few accomplishments have been: TAHPERD has constructed its own office building, TAHPERD has been instrumental in educating Texas Legislators to pass laws to create a healthier environment for students, TAHPERD has assisted the Texas Education Agency to implement requirements for all public schools to have a functioning School Health Advisory Council, a Coordinate School Health program, and conduct physical fitness testing using FITNESSGRAM.

   We look forward to continued growth and improvement with her able leadership and the vision provided us in our 2004 Strategic Plan.

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