Furthermore, schools are generally not held accountable for their students' physical fitness. Some states, like Missouri, New York and South Carolina, are beginning to implement assessments of PE skills that would be part of the public report card. Achievement in language arts, math, social studies. In some cases, parents themselves resist. But other studies have found that the parents of overweight kids tend to deny the problem.
Advocates say one of the most difficult hurdles is changing people's perceptions.
Mary Lou Cowlishaw, an Illinois state legislator who has worked on education issues for 18 years, admits that before meeting Naperville's Lawler, she was not as zealous a PE advocate. The last person you wanted to be was the last one picked for a team, and I was always chosen last. This is exactly what kids should be learning. It just makes so much sense. As New PE spreads, more are sharing that view.