Tennessee to Increase Physical Activity Requirements for Elementary Schools

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On March 31, 2016, Tennessee Governor, Bill Haslam, signed a new bill which increases the weekly requirements for physical activity in grades K-6.

The new law will go into effect in July 2016 requiring 225 minutes of physical activity per week for Tennessee (5% Latino) students in grades K-1, and 160 minutes per week for students in grades 2-6. This is a drastic increase from the previous requirement of 90 minutes per week for all grades, although students in grades 7-12 will still only receive 90 minutes.

More specifically, the law requires a minimum of three 15-minutes periods of non-structured physical activity at least four days a week for grades K-1, and a minimum of two 20-minutes periods of non-structured physical activity at least four days a week for grades 2-6.

Many Latino-majority schools don’t offer recommended time for physical activity, compared to white-majority schools. Due to lack of equitable policies and practices in schools-related to physical activity and healthy food-Latino kids face disparities in obesity, diabetes, and heart disease rates. Separate from nutrition or weight status, physical activity has numerous health benefits, benefits that all kids deserve.

State requirements increasing time for physical activity could have a positive impact on all kid’s participation in physical activity, thus their health, behavior, and academic performance. Establishing incremental physical activity as a normal part of the school day at an early age, advances a culture of health and could help kids adopt an active lifestyle for rest of their lives.

Learn more about the new law here.

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