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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1585 Engrossed in House (EH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 1585

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 
To increase awareness of physical activity opportunities at school, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fitness Integrated with Teaching 
Kids Act'' or the ``FIT Kids Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     Congress finds the following:
            (1) Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in 
        the United States.
            (2) Researchers estimate that medical costs of the obesity 
        epidemic may total as much as $147,000,000,000 annually.
            (3) The prevalence of overweight in children between the 
        ages of 6 and 11 years increased from 4.0 percent between 1971 
        to 1974 to 17.5 percent between 2001 to 2004, and the 
        prevalence of overweight in adolescents between the ages of 12 
        and 19 years increased from 6.1 percent to 17.0 percent.
            (4) Recent studies indicating that 17 percent of 6 to 11 
        year-olds and 17.6 percent of 12 to 19 year-olds are considered 
        obese. Furthermore, 33 percent of 6 to 11 year-olds and 34 
        percent of 12 to 19 year-olds are overweight; these rates have 
        roughly doubled since 1980.
            (5) Of all United States deaths from major chronic disease, 
        23 percent are linked to sedentary lifestyles that now begin at 
        childhood.
            (6) Overweight adolescents have a 70 to 80 percent chance 
        of becoming overweight adults, increasing their risk for 
        chronic disease, disability, and death.
            (7) A decline in physical activity has contributed to the 
        unprecedented epidemic of childhood obesity.
            (8) The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans 
        published by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
        recommend that children engage in 60 minutes or more of 
        physical activity each day.
            (9) In a 2005 Government Accountability Office report on 
        key strategies to include in programs designed to target 
        childhood obesity, ``increasing physical activity'' was 
        identified as the most important component in any such program.
            (10) Part of the decline in physical activity has been in 
        our Nation's schools, where physical education programs have 
        been cut back in the past 2 decades.
            (11) The national standard for physical education 
        frequency, as outlined in the Physical Activity Guidelines for 
        Americans, is 150 minutes per week in elementary school and 225 
        minutes per week in middle school and high school.
            (12) Only 3.8 percent of elementary schools, 7.9 percent of 
        middle schools, and 2.1 percent of high schools provide daily 
        physical education or its equivalent for the entire school 
        year, and 22 percent of schools do not require students to take 
        any physical education at all.
            (13) Among children ages 9 to 13, 61.5 percent do not 
        participate in any organized physical activity during out-of-
        school hours.
            (14) Regular physical activity is associated with a 
        healthier, longer life and a lower risk of cardiovascular 
        disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and some 
        cancers.
            (15) Research suggests a strong correlation between 
        children's fitness and their academic performance as measured 
        by grades in core subjects and standardized test scores.
            (16) Approximately 81 percent of adults believe daily 
        physical education should be mandatory in schools.

SEC. 3. INCREASING AWARENESS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OPPORTUNITIES AT 
              SCHOOL.

    (a) Local Educational Agencies.--Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, each local 
educational agency located in a State receiving funds under part A of 
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) shall--
            (1) post on its Internet website, or otherwise make 
        available to parents and families of students served by the 
        agency, information on healthful eating habits, physical 
        education, and physical activity, including information on--
                    (A) the importance of a healthy lifestyle 
                (including healthful eating habits, physical education, 
                and physical activity) for an effective learning 
                environment;
                    (B) how schools served by the agency are promoting 
                healthy lifestyles, including information on applicable 
                elementary school and secondary school programs and 
                policies regarding nutrition, physical education, and 
                physical activity (including coordinated school health 
                plans or local wellness policies, as applicable);
                    (C) whether the schools served by the agency follow 
                an age-appropriate physical education curriculum for 
                all elementary school and secondary school students 
                enrolled in the schools that adheres to national 
                guidelines adopted by the Centers for Disease Control 
                and Prevention of the Department of Health and Human 
                Services or the State in which the school is located;
                    (D) the most recent national recommendations for 
                physical education and physical activity for elementary 
                school and secondary school students, as established by 
                the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the 
                Department of Health and Human Services; and
                    (E) a description of the amount of time that 
                students in kindergarten through grade 12 served by the 
                agency are required to spend in physical education, 
                disaggregated by grade level, including information on 
                criteria for granting students a waiver or exemption, 
                or allowing a substitution for the requirement; and
            (2) assist each school served by the agency in collecting 
        and disseminating (such as through the Internet website of the 
        school) to parents and families of students enrolled in the 
        school, information on--
                    (A) whether the school follows an age-appropriate 
                physical education curriculum for all students enrolled 
                in the school that adheres to national guidelines 
                adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention of Health and Human Services or the State in 
                which the school is located;
                    (B) the most recent national recommendations for 
                physical education and physical activity for elementary 
                school and secondary school students, as established by 
                the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the 
                Department of Health and Human Services;
                    (C) the requirements described in paragraph (1)(E);
                    (D) a description of the facilities available for 
                physical education and physical activity for students 
                enrolled in the school; and
                    (E) if applicable, any health and wellness council 
                (such as a school health council or local wellness 
                policy council) located in the school or that the 
                school is involved with, including information on--
                            (i) members;
                            (ii) membership criteria;
                            (iii) opportunities for parental 
                        involvement; and
                            (iv) meeting dates and agendas.
    (b) State Educational Agencies.--
            (1) Submission; information availability.--Not later than 
        15 days after a local educational agency described in 
        subsection (a) posts on its Internet website the information 
        described in subsection (a)(1)(E), and annually thereafter, the 
        local educational agency shall provide to the applicable State 
        educational agency the information described in such 
        subsection.
            (2) Additional duties of the state educational agency.--A 
        State educational agency that receives information under 
        paragraph (1) shall ensure that the information is made 
        available to the general public within a reasonable period of 
        time, such as through the Internet website of the State 
        educational agency.

SEC. 4. STUDIES ON PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND FITNESS.

    (a) National Research Council Study.--Subject to the availability 
of funds appropriated to carry out this subsection, the Secretary of 
Education shall enter into a contract with the National Research 
Council of the National Academy of Sciences to--
            (1) examine and make recommendations regarding--
                    (A) various means that may be employed to 
                incorporate physical activity into elementary school 
                and secondary school settings, and before- and after-
                school programs;
                    (B) innovative and effective ways to increase 
                physical activity for all students in kindergarten 
                through grade 12; and
                    (C) efforts to encourage the participation of 
                students with disabilities in physical education 
                programs and the types of accommodations used to 
                increase the participation of such students;
            (2) study the impact of health, level of physical activity, 
        and amount of physical education on students' ability to learn 
        and maximize performance in school; and
            (3) study and provide specific recommendations for 
        effectively measuring the progress students, at the elementary 
        school and secondary school level, in increasing physical 
        activity and improving their health and well-being, including 
        improving their--
                    (A) knowledge, awareness, and behavior, related to 
                nutrition and physical activity;
                    (B) cognitive development, and fitness, with 
                physical education;
                    (C) knowledge of lifetime physical activity and 
                health promotion; and
                    (D) performance on overall health indicators, 
                including flexibility, endurance, strength, balance, 
                and blood pressure.
    (b) National Fitness Study.--Subject to the availability of funds 
to carry out this subsection, the Secretary of Education shall conduct 
a study on the participation of students in physical education and 
other physical activities in public elementary schools and public 
secondary schools that--
            (1) examines student participation in exercise (including 
        sports and active games), including the types, frequency, 
        duration, and seasonality of exercise participation, through--
                    (A) school physical education classes;
                    (B) other school programs; and
                    (C) intramural activities; and
            (2) assesses student physical activity and fitness levels.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section 
for fiscal year 2011.

SEC. 5. DISSEMINATION OF BEST PRACTICES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall identify and 
make available to State educational agencies and local educational 
agencies, best practices on innovative physical education and physical 
activity policies and programs at the State and local level, including 
best practices that--
            (1) identify and address common challenges to States and 
        local educational agencies in implementing physical education 
        and physical activity policies and programs, including barriers 
        for meeting national recommendations for physical education and 
        physical activity in schools, as established by the Centers for 
        Disease Control and Prevention of the Department of Health and 
        Human Services; and
            (2) meet or are working toward meeting the national 
        recommendations for physical education and physical activity in 
        schools, as established by the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention of the Department of Health and Human Services.
    (b) Updating Best Practices.--The Secretary shall update the best 
practices described in subsection (a) after completion of the study 
carried out under section 4(a).

SEC. 6. PROMOTING THE HEALTHIERUS SCHOOL CHALLENGE.

    The Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Secretary of 
Agriculture, shall encourage schools to participate in the HealthierUS 
School Challenge of the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of 
Agriculture.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    Except as otherwise provided, any term used in this Act that is 
defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801) shall have the meaning given the term in such 
section.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 21, 2010.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
111th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 1585

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To increase awareness of physical activity opportunities at school, and 
                          for other purposes.
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