The squeak of sneakers on a gym floor and squawk of whistles are common school sounds during PE class. But with the increasing emphasis on academic testing in recent decades, are Wyoming public school students getting enough physical education and activity?
Likely not, said Dr. Ben Kern, an associate professor at the University of Wyoming who specializes in physical education research and pedagogy.
“A research study that I conducted with colleagues across the country noted that Wyoming elementary students only receive about 73 minutes per week of physical education,” Kern told the Legislature’s Joint Education Committee. “There are some elementary schools in Wyoming that offer 30 minutes of physical education to elementary students once every six school days. That’s roughly less than 30 class periods over the course of the entire school year.”
National guidelines from the Society of Health and Physical Educators recommend schools provide 150 minutes of weekly instructional physical education for elementary school children, and 225 minutes for middle and high school students. In the more general category of “physical activity,” the organization recommends school-age children accumulate at least 60 minutes and up to several hours of physical activity daily while avoiding prolonged periods of inactivity.
Kern brought up the importance of physical education during a broader committee assessment on the so-called “basket of goods” that Wyoming provides to public school children. The Legislature is tasked with defining and specifying what a proper education is for a Wyoming child.
On June 1, the Education Committee spent hours reviewing the state’s specific components, which range from computer science to English language arts and, yes, physical education.
As lawmakers mull the right mix of components in the educational basket, Kern advised them to consider establishing minimum weekly PE time requirements.
“I respectfully urge the committee to consider strengthening physical education within the basket of goods through clear statutory expectations,” Kern said, “and specifically, Wyoming should consider establishing minimum weekly PE time requirements, prohibiting the withholding of physical education as a punishment … and requiring meaningful physical education credit for graduation, while limiting the substitutions for non-PE activities.”
Lawmakers were receptive to the concept of encouraging more physical education but reluctant to embrace mandatory guidance.
Get kids moving
Kern has a PhD in kinesiology and has authored or co-authored dozens of papers on topics related to physical activity in school settings. On Monday, he spoke in partnership with the Wyoming Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, he said.
“Physical education is not an extra. It’s part of a well-rounded education and directly supports the health, learning, workforce readiness and quality of life of Wyoming students,” he said. “Wyoming already includes physical education in its educational program, but inclusion alone doesn’t guarantee meaningful access. Many students in Wyoming receive far less physical education than is needed to develop their physical literacy.”
One of his research studies found that “from 2005 to 2021 the number of minutes per week of middle school physical education went from 221 minutes per week down to 161 minutes per week … a significant reduction, and that’s been seen across the country as well.”
Some of that drop can be attributed to a decline in subjects like PE, art and music as due to a growing emphasis and accountability on state and national testing, he said.
But high-quality physical education supports areas like attention, behavior, mental health, confidence, teamwork and academic achievement, Kern argued. “When students lose these opportunities to move, be creative, succeed beyond just test scores and experience joy in school, the day becomes less balanced and less engaging,” he said. “And for many children, school-based PE is the only structured physical activity they get through the entire week.”
In another study his lab conducted, 95% of 145 principals responding to a statewide survey reported that their school’s PE curriculum is specifically designed to meet Wyoming’s PE standard, Kern said. “That same survey found that just over 42% of Wyoming schools could increase physical education time if the state required it … That tells us that school leaders value physical education, and many schools already have the capacity to act if the Legislature required it.”
Guidance
While he didn’t want to go as far as putting PE standards into statute, Laramie Democrat Sen. Chris Rothfuss suggested that the state can strive for clearer guidance. He recommended the committee draft a non-codified bill directing the Wyoming Board of Education to produce guidance on physical education access and to discourage any punitive taking away of PE.
“So it is drafting a bill, but it’s not in statute, it’s not codified, and it would be providing a directive for this upcoming drafting of the standards to provide guidance,” Rothfuss said.
The committee approved the idea.
“I think PE and physical activity is highly important for our kids today,” Sen. Evie Brennan, R-Cheyenne, said, “and so whatever we can do to not take that away as a form of discipline and to encourage that movement, I fully support.”
