II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 418 

To support and encourage the health and well-being of elementary school 

and secondary school students by enhancing school physical education 

and health education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 9, 2015 

Mr. UDALL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To support and encourage the health and well-being of elementary school and secondary school students by enhancing school physical education and health education. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Health as 

5 Youth Skills in Classrooms and Life Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Childhood obesity has reached epidemic pro9 portions in the United States. 


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1 (2) Researchers estimate that the medical costs 

2 of the obesity epidemic in the United States may 

3 total $270,000,000,000 annually. 

4 (3) More than one-third of children and adoles5 cents are estimated to be overweight or obese. 

6 (4) Of all United States deaths from major 

7 chronic disease, 23 percent are linked to sedentary 

8 lifestyles that now begin at childhood. 

9 (5) Overweight adolescents have a 70- to 80- 

10 percent chance of becoming overweight adults, in11 creasing their risk for chronic disease, disability, and 

12 death. 

13 (6) Studies show that children born today, for 

14 the first time in 2 centuries, have a shorter life ex15 pectancy than their parents. 

16 (7) According to the Centers for Disease Con17 trol and Prevention, in 2006— 

18 (A) 1 in 5 students in grades 9–12 seri19 ously considers suicide; 

20 (B) 1 in 3 12th graders, 1 in 4 10th grad21 ers, and 1 in 10 8th graders binge drink; and 

22 (C) 1 in 10 children suffer mental illness 

23 causing some level of impairment. 

24 (8) Studies show that— 


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1 (A) students who receive social-psycho2 logical support and prevention have improved 

3 academic achievement; 

4 (B) instruction in personal and social skills 

5 improves decisionmaking and reduces risky 

6 health behaviors; and 

7 (C) comprehensive programs linking rig8 orous instruction with health, education, social 

9 services, and health services in schools can re10 duce absenteeism. 

11 (9) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre12 vention recommends that students receive a min13 imum of 50 hours of health education per year in 

14 order to ensure health literacy. 

15 (10) According to the Centers for Disease Con16 trol and Prevention, only 6.4 percent of elementary 

17 schools, 20.6 percent of middle schools, and 35.8 

18 percent of high schools require health instruction in 

19 all 14 recommended health topics and only 3.8 per20 cent of elementary schools, 7.8 percent of middle 

21 schools, and 2.1 percent of high schools provide daily 

22 physical education or its equivalent. 

23 (11) The Institute of Medicine in 2004 reported 

24 that enhanced school health education programs are 

25 essential to developing a health literate society in the 


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1 United States as the Nation faces increasing health 

2 care challenges. In 2013, the Institute of Medicine 

3 recommended elevating physical education to a ‘‘core 

4 subject’’ in an effort to combat childhood obesity. 

5 (12) According to the Centers for Disease Con6 trol and Prevention, studies suggest that physical 

7 activity can impact cognitive skills and attitudes, 

8 and important components of improved academic 

9 performance, including enhanced concentration and 

10 attention as well as improved classroom behavior. 

11 (13) The White House Task Force on Child12 hood Obesity Report recommends increasing the 

13 quality and frequency of sequential, age, and devel14 opmentally appropriate physical education for all 

15 students, taught by certified physical education 

16 teachers. 

17 (14) The Society of Health and Physical Edu18 cators recommends that elementary school students 

19 receive 150 minutes per week of physical education 

20 and that middle school and high school students re21 ceive 225 minutes per week of physical education. 

22 (15) The American school system is already sit23 uated to reach 50,000,000 children and youth to 

24 provide the health and physical education they need 

25 and a place for them to engage in these behaviors, 


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1 such as nutritious eating and participating in phys2 ical activity. 

3 (16) Military readiness is vulnerable, as almost 

4 30 percent of 17–24 year olds are too overweight to 

5 serve in the U.S. military. 

6 (17) Physical education and health education 

7 are critical to combating these harmful trends and 

8 are key components to educating the whole child. 

9 SEC. 3. HEALTH EDUCATION AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 9101(11) of the Elemen11 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

12 7801(11)) is amended by striking ‘‘and geography’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘geography, physical education, and health edu14 cation’’. 

15 (b) ASSESSMENTS.—Section 1111(b)(3) of the Ele16 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

17 6311(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(E) ASSESSMENTS FOR HEALTH EDU20 CATION AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION.—Notwith21 standing any other provision of this Act, each 

22 State shall determine the most feasible measure 

23 for assessing students in health education and 

24 physical education, including the use of adapt25 ive assessments, to measure student knowledge 


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1 and performance according to State standards 

2 and benchmarks.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. CAROL M. WHITE PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Carol M. White Physical 

5 Education Program (20 U.S.C. 7261 et seq.) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) by striking section 5503 and inserting the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 5503. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized 

11 to award grants to local educational agencies and commu12 nity-based organizations to pay the Federal share of the 

13 costs of initiating, expanding, and improving physical edu14 cation programs for kindergarten through 12th-grade stu15 dents by— 

16 ‘‘(1) providing materials, equipment, and sup17 port to enable students to participate actively in 

18 physical education activities; and 

19 ‘‘(2) providing funds for staff and teacher 

20 training and education. 

21 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.—A physical education 

22 program funded under this subpart may provide for 1 or 

23 more of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Fitness education and assessment to help 

2 students understand, improve, or maintain their 

3 physical well-being. 

4 ‘‘(2) Instruction in a variety of motor skills and 

5 physical activities designed to enhance the physical, 

6 mental, and social or emotional development of every 

7 student. 

8 ‘‘(3) Development of, and instruction in, cog9 nitive concepts about motor skill and physical fitness 

10 that support a lifelong healthy lifestyle. 

11 ‘‘(4) Opportunities to develop positive social 

12 and cooperative skills through physical activity par13 ticipation. 

14 ‘‘(5) Instruction in healthy eating habits and 

15 good nutrition. 

16 ‘‘(6) Opportunities for professional development 

17 for teachers of physical education to stay abreast of 

18 the latest research, issues, and trends in the field of 

19 physical education. 

20 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE.—For the purpose of this sub21 part, extracurricular activities, such as team sports and 

22 Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program activi23 ties, shall not be considered as part of the curriculum of 

24 a physical education program assisted under this sub25 part.’’; and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘SEC. 5508. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

3 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

4 this subpart such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

5 2016 and each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

7 section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

8 of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 

9 to section 5507 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 5508. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

Æ 


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