Effective: September 17, 2014
Latest Legislation: House Bill 487 - 130th General Assembly
(A) Beginning in the 2011-2012 school year, the department of education shall administer a pilot program requiring daily physical activity for students. Any school district; community school established under Chapter 3314. of the Revised Code; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics school established under Chapter 3326. of the Revised Code; or chartered nonpublic school annually may elect to participate in the pilot program by notifying the department of its interest by a date established by the department. If a school district elects to participate in the pilot program, the district shall select one or more school buildings to participate in the program. To the maximum extent possible, the department shall seek to include in the pilot program districts and schools that are located in urban, suburban, and rural areas distributed geographically throughout the state. The department shall administer the pilot program in accordance with this section.
(B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, each district or school participating in the pilot program shall require all students in the school building selected under division (A) of this section to engage in at least thirty minutes of moderate to rigorous physical activity each school day or at least one hundred fifty minutes of moderate to rigorous physical activity each week, exclusive of recess. Physical activity engaged in during the following may count toward the daily requirement:
(1) A physical education course;
(2) A program or activity occurring before or after the regular school day, as defined in section 3313.814 of the Revised Code, that is sponsored or approved by the school of attendance, provided school officials are able to monitor students' participation to ensure compliance with the requirement.
(C) None of the following shall be subject to the requirement of division (B) of this section:
(1) Any student enrolled in the college credit plus program established under Chapter 3365. of the Revised Code;
(2) Any student enrolled in a career-technical education program operated by the district or school;
(3) Any student enrolled in a dropout prevention and recovery program operated by the district or school.
(D) For any period in which a student is participating in interscholastic athletics, marching band, cheerleading, or a junior reserve officer training corps program, the district or school may excuse the student from the requirement of division (B) of this section.
(E) The district or school may excuse any kindergarten student who is not enrolled in all-day kindergarten, as defined in section 3321.05 of the Revised Code, from the requirement of division (B) of this section.
(F) Each district or school annually shall report to the department, in the manner prescribed by the department, how the district or school implemented the thirty minutes of daily physical activity and the financial costs of implementation. The department shall issue an annual report of the data collected under this division.