(1) There is created in the department the health and wellness through comprehensive quality physical education instruction pilot program for the purpose of awarding grants to eligible schools or school districts to implement a program of comprehensive quality physical education instruction, as described in subsection (5) of this section. A school or school district awarded a grant pursuant to this section shall only use the grant money to address a resource need in its current physical education program that creates a barrier to implementing a program of comprehensive quality physical education instruction, as described in subsection (5) of this section. A school or school district awarded a pilot program grant shall use the money to supplement, not supplant, existing school or school district resources used for physical education programs.
An eligible school or school district may apply for a three-year pilot program grant.The grant application must include all grade levels served in the eligible school or eligible schools of the school district. An application from an individual school must be submitted by the chief administrative officer of the school and, if the school is not a charter school, approved by the superintendent of the school district.
Subject to available appropriations, pilot program grants are three-year grants, renewable annually, that cover the 2020-21 academic year through the 2022-23 academic year. The department shall evaluate all complete pilot program grant applications received by December 1, 2019, and shall make recommendations to the state board for the award of pilot program grants to up to fifteen eligible schools or school districts for a total amount awarded annually of no more than three million dollars, including department administrative expenses. The state board shall award the initial pilot program grants no later than February 29, 2020, to allow for a planning period for grant recipients prior to the implementation of the required pilot program components during the 2020-21 academic year.
In awarding pilot program grants to eligible schools or school districts, the stateboard shall consider, among other award criteria:
(a) Barriers to implementing a comprehensive quality physical education instruction program in the eligible school or school district, including but not limited to:
Lack of resources;
Lack of appropriate equipment;
Difficulty retaining staff;
The existence of a four-day school week; and
Lack of local school mill levy override funding to supplement school total programfunding;
The ability of the eligible school or school district to implement all components ofthe pilot program and whether a pilot program grant will enable the school or school district to address a resource need necessary to provide comprehensive quality physical education instruction;
The amount of grant money needed for the eligible school or school district to implement the pilot program without supplanting existing resources and a preliminary draft of the eligible school or school district's three-year comprehensive quality physical education instruction action plan, as described in subsection (6) of this section, if available, or a statement of how the school or school district intends to use the three-year grant;
The requirement that at least thirty percent of the grants are awarded to eligible schools or school districts receiving federal money for programs under Title I, part A of the federal "Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965", 20 U.S.C. sec. 6301 et seq., as amended;
The eligible school or school district's geographic location and the desirability ofcreating, to the extent possible, an even distribution of rural, urban, and suburban schools, as well as elementary and middle schools, to ensure an adequate sample and diversity for purposes of the pilot program evaluation; and
A preliminary draft of the school or school district's three-year comprehensive qualityphysical education instruction action plan.
(5) A school or school district awarded a pilot program grant shall use the grant to implement a comprehensive quality physical education instruction program that includes, at a minimum, all of the following components:
(a) (I) Thirty minutes daily or one hundred fifty minutes per week of physical education instruction for all students in kindergarten through fifth grade, not including recess time or physical activity breaks;
Forty-five minutes daily or two hundred twenty-five minutes per week for all students in sixth through eighth grade, not including recess time or physical activity breaks;
A class size for physical education instruction that is comparable to the class sizefor academic subjects;
Safe, clean, and well-maintained indoor and outdoor spaces for physical educationinstruction and physical activity, and equipment and facilities that support physical education instruction;
Curriculum that meets Colorado's physical education standards at each covered grade level;
Moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least half of the physical educationclass time;
Regular assessment of physical education learning objectives, including formativeand summative assessments and a measure for student growth;
Student progress monitoring, including student surveys of physical activity, nutrition, sleep habits, and perceptions of physical education instruction;
Physical education instructor and classroom teachers surveys of student outcomesor changes in student behavior attributed to the pilot program;
A prohibition against removal of a student from the physical education program foracademic reasons or as a form of punishment; and
A prohibition against exempting students from physical education instruction; except that a parent or guardian may excuse a student from participation for a limited period of time or limited portion of the instruction for religious observances or due to religions prohibitions. A student may be excused from the physical activity component of the instruction if the student is injured or has a physical or emotional condition that prevents participation. In those circumstances, modified physical activities may be provided. In accordance with the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act", 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400 et seq., as amended, all students shall receive equal-quality physical education.
Licensed educators with a physical education endorsement, or, if employed by a school that does not require teacher licensing for employment, a program of professional development that enables the physical education instructor to become proficient in teaching comprehensive quality physical education in accordance with the pilot program requirements and physical education endorsement standards; and
A mandatory professional development program for instructors that includes at leastfifteen hours of instruction each year, which instruction must address appropriate practices in providing comprehensive quality physical education, including emerging technologies, model physical education programs, and improvement in physical education teaching methods.
Each school awarded a pilot program grant and each school district awarded a pilotprogram grant shall prepare a three-year comprehensive quality physical education instruction action plan that includes class schedules, physical education curriculum, physical education teacher qualifications, a professional development plan, and sample physical education assessments and assessment rubrics.
The department shall provide each school awarded a grant with the following support, if available and relevant:
Standards-based physical education curriculum;
A list of approved instructional resources and the process for approval for new andinnovative instructional resources;
Samples of approved formative and summative assessments and the process for approval of new assessments;
Samples of approved physical education instructor assessment rubrics;
Criteria to assess student and instructor growth in physical education;
Resources relating to professional development for physical education instructors;and
School district-appropriate practices for physical education instructors to use in physical education classes.
Pilot program grant recipients shall notify parents of students in participating schoolsof the grant award and pilot program goals and requirements and the opportunities for parents to participate and provide feedback regarding the pilot program and its implementation within their student's school.
The department shall encourage pilot program grant recipients to share best practicesand to collaborate during the implementation planning process and throughout the duration of the pilot program. Grant recipients are also encouraged to provide education and training to school administrators regarding the importance of comprehensive quality physical education instruction and the necessary components of a comprehensive quality physical education program in the school.
If a grant recipient is substantially out of compliance with significant requirementsof the pilot program, after providing as much notice as is practicable, the state board may decline to renew a recipient's pilot program grant for the second or third academic year.
Participating pilot program schools and school districts shall provide data and information to the department and to the program evaluator described in section 22-99-104 for purposes of reporting on the implementation and evaluation of the pilot program.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I) to the contrary, thedepartment shall report to the education committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees, at the annual meeting of legislative committees of reference conducted during the legislative interim pursuant to section 2-7-203, concerning grants awarded pursuant to the pilot program.
Source: L. 2019: Entire article added, (SB 19-246), ch. 151, p. 1796, § 10, effective May 10. L. 2020: (5)(a)(XI) amended, (HB 20-1402), ch. 216, p. 1050, § 41, effective June 30.