Physical Education

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Physical Activity Requirements for Texas Public School Students

SB 530

Students below sixth grade are required to participate in moderate or vigorous daily physical activity for at least 30 minutes throughout the school year as part of the district’s physical education curriculum or through structured activity during recess. Beginning with the 2008-09 school year, students in grades six through eight will be required to participate in daily physical activity for at least 30 minutes for at least four semesters during those grade levels.

If a school district determines, for any particular grade level below sixth grade, that this requirement is impractical due to scheduling concerns or other factors, students in that grade level may participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity for at least 135 minutes during each school week. Districts that use block scheduling, may as an alternative require students to participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity for at least 225 minutes during each two-week school period.

The local school health advisory committee must consider and make policy recommendations concerning the importance of daily recess for elementary school students, taking into account research on unstructured and undirected play, academic and social development, and the health benefits of daily recess. Any policy recommendation by the council to the district must reflect local community values.

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)

Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 2

Resources

National Physical Education Standards

Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (TAHPERD)

About the Division of Adolescent and School Health | National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) | CDC

President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition

University Interscholastic League

Mayor's Fitness Council - City of San Antonio

Concussions

What is a Concussion Oversight Team (COT)?

Who should be on the Concussion Oversight Team (COT)?

The Texas Education Code §38.154 states that each COT must include at least one physician and to the extent practicable one or more of the following: athletic trainer, advanced practice nurse, neuropsychologist, or physician assistant. If the LEA employs an athletic trainer, the athletic trainer must be on the COT; if the LEA employs a school nurse, the school nurse may be on the COT if requested by the school nurse. All members of the COT must have received training in the evaluation, treatment, and oversight of concussions at the time of appointment/approval as a member of the COT.

What is the role of the Concussion Oversight Team (COT)?

The COT is responsible for the development of a return-to-play protocol for the LEA, based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence, for a student's return to interscholastic athletics practice or competition following the force or impact believed to have caused a concussion. Requirements for return-to-play are further outlined in the Texas Education Code §38.157. EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 38. HEALTH AND SAFETY (texas.gov)

Who is required to receive training over concussions?

The Texas Education Code §38.158 specifies that the following individuals, who serve as members of the Concussion Oversight Team (COT), must take an approved course that is at least two hours in duration once every two years:

a coach of an interscholastic athletic activity;
a school nurse who serves as a member of a concussion oversight team;
a licensed health care professional (including an athletic trainer) who serves as a member of a concussion oversight team (LEA employee and volunteers)

Additional Notes on Training Requirements:

A physician who serves as a member of a concussion oversight team shall, to the greatest extent practicable, periodically take an appropriate continuing medical education course in the subject matter of concussions.
A school nurse or licensed health care professional who is not in compliance with the training requirements under this section may not serve on a concussion oversight team in any capacity.

EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 38. HEALTH AND SAFETY (texas.gov)

Where can I find more information on Concussion requirements in Texas?

Physical Fitness Assessment / FitnessGram

Are LEAs required to assess the physical fitness of students?

Yes, the Texas Education Code §38.101 requires LEAs to annually assess the physical fitness of students enrolled in grade three or higher in a course that satisfies the curriculum requirements for physical education. LEAs are required to provide the results of individual student performance on the physical fitness assessments to the Texas Education Agency. EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 38. HEALTH AND SAFETY (texas.gov)

What physical fitness assessments must be conducted on students?

When/where are the reports due?

The deadline to submit fitness assessment results for the 2024-2025 school year is on or before 5 p.m. CST on Friday, June 13, 2025.

School systems are required to submit the results of the physical fitness assessment to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) each school year, per TEC, Section 38.103.

For the 2024-2025 school year, school systems may submit their data through one of three options, FitnessGram®, the Physical Fitness Assessment Initiative (PFAI) application, or another vendor collection tool.

What is PFAI and is this the same thing as FitnessGram?

The Physical Fitness Assessment Initiative (PFAI) is the state program the Texas Education Agency utilizes to collect the required student physical fitness data reports from LEAs and analyzes the results.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) uses the PFAI to:

Collect data: The TEA requires school districts to submit physical fitness data for students in grades 3–12.

Analyze data: The TEA analyzes the data to determine if there is a correlation between fitness and other factors, such as student achievement, attendance, obesity, discipline, and school meal programs.

Report data: The TEA aggregates the data and provides a report to the legislature.

The PFAI [Web] Application is one software option for LEAs to utilize when submitting required fitness assessment data. Information and resources have been posted to the Physical Fitness Assessment Initiative | Texas Education Agency web page to assist school systems with a successful data submission. Questions related to the PFAI application may be directed to TEA by telephone at (512) 463- 9581 or by email at [email protected]. The PFAI tool will open for data collection in January 2025. To submit data, school systems are required to have a TEA Login (TEAL) account with access to the PFAI application.

FitnessGram® is a software program developed by the Cooper Institute that allows LEAs to collect the results of student fitness assessments. TEA announced that statewide site licenses from Greenlight Fitness for FitnessGram are available at no cost to qualifying schools for the 2024–2025 school year. Campus site licenses for the FitnessGram software are paid with funds allocated to the Physical Fitness Assessment Initiative by the Texas Legislature. School systems that select this option must renew their site license annually and report student physical fitness assessment data only through the FitnessGram software. Approval of the superintendent or their designee is required for this option. Additional information on FitnessGram® can be found at the following web address: FitnessGram.

When should the physical fitness assessment be conducted?

How often must the student physical fitness assessment be conducted?

Who should we contact if we have more questions about utilizing the free statewide site license for FitnessGram?

Please visit https://help.fitnessgram.net/texas/ for instructions and registration information. The last day to register for a FitnessGram® site license for 2024–2025 is on or before 5 p.m. CST on Friday, May 30, 2025.

For questions related to the FitnessGram Campus site license, please contact Jessica Garcia with Greenlight Fitness by telephone at 1-866-211-2718 or by email at [email protected]. For technical assistance questions, please call 1-866-211-2718 or email [email protected]. You may also visit https://help.fitnessgram.net/texas/.

Physical Activity

What are the physical activity requirements for students in elementary and middle school?

The Texas Education Code §28.002(l) specifies the number of minutes of moderate or vigorous physical activity that students in elementary, middle, and high school must participate in.

Elementary School: Students in full-day prekindergarten, kindergarten, or in grades below 6 must participate in moderate or vigorous daily physical activity for at least 30 minutes, this requirement may be met through the physical education curriculum or through structured activity during daily recess. To the extent practicable, students attending prekindergarten on less than a full-day basis should participate in the same type and amount of physical activity as students in full-day prekindergarten classes.

If a LEA determines, for any grade level below 6^th grade, that requiring daily moderate or vigorous physical activity is impractical due to scheduling concerns or other factors, the LEA may as an alternative require a student in that grade to participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity for at least 135 minutes during each school week.

Middle School: Students in grades 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th are required to participate in moderate or vigorous daily physical activity for at least 30 minutes for at least four semesters during those grade levels as part of the physical education curriculum.

As an alternative, a LEA may require a student enrolled in a grade level for which the district uses block scheduling to participate in moderate or vigorous physical activity for at least 225 minutes during each period of two school weeks.

EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 28. COURSES OF STUDY; ADVANCEMENT (texas.gov)

PE FAQ (texas.gov)

Recess

Is recess required?

One of the duties of the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) detailed in the Texas Education Code §28.004 is making recommendations to the district concerning the importance of daily recess for elementary school students. In making these recommendations, the SHAC must consider research regarding unstructured and undirected play, academic and social development, and the health benefits of daily recess. The SHAC must ensure local community values are reflected in any policy recommendation made to the LEA. EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 28. COURSES OF STUDY; ADVANCEMENT (texas.gov)

The Texas Education Code §28.002(l) specifies that students in full-day prekindergarten, kindergarten, or in grades below 6 must participate in moderate or vigorous daily physical activity for at least 30 minutes, this requirement may be met through the physical education curriculum or through structured activity during daily recess. EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 28. COURSES OF STUDY; ADVANCEMENT (texas.gov)

Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)

What is the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)?

The YRBS is a federally funded survey of students used to monitor health-related behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults. The survey also measures the prevalence of obesity and asthma and other health-related behaviors plus sexual identity and sex of sexual contacts. The behavior categories included in the survey are:

Behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence
Sexual behaviors related to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection
Alcohol and other drug use
Tobacco use
Unhealthy dietary behaviors
Inadequate physical activity

More information can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Surveillance System website at the following web address: YRBSS | Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System | Data | Adolescent and School Health | CDC

When is the YRBS conducted?

How are the results from the YRBS used?

Are LEAs required to participate in the survey required?

Where can a LEA find out more about the YRBS in Texas?

Steroids

Are their requirements for any LEA staff to participate in training on steroids?

Yes, the Texas Education Code 33.091(c-1) requires each LEA employee who serves as an athletic coach at or above 7th grade for an extracurricular athletic activity sponsored or sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League (UIL) to complete the educational program developed by the UIL regarding the health effects of steroid use or a comparable program developed by the LEA or a private entity with relevant expertise.

EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 33. SERVICE PROGRAMS AND EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES (texas.gov)

Where can a copy of the UIL Steroid Education training for coaches be found?

Are there any required postings regarding steroids?

Yes, the Texas Education Code §38.008 requires each school in a school district in which there is a grade seven or higher to post in a conspicuous location in the school gymnasium and each other place in a building where physical education classes are conducted the following notice:

Anabolic steroids are for medical use only. State law prohibits possessing, dispensing, delivering, or administering an anabolic steroid in any manner not allowed by state law. State law provides that bodybuilding, muscle enhancement, or the increase of muscle bulk or strength through the use of an anabolic steroid or human growth hormone by a person who is in good health is not a valid medical purpose. Only a medical doctor may prescribe an anabolic steroid or human growth hormone for a person. A violation of state law concerning anabolic steroids or human growth hormones is a criminal offense punishable by confinement in jail or imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 1995. EDUCATION CODE CHAPTER 38. HEALTH AND SAFETY (texas.gov)