BILL REQ. #:  H-0657.1 

Read first time 01/13/09.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     TO THE HONORABLE BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, AND TO THE SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION:
     We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:
     WHEREAS, Childhood obesity, diabetes, and cardiorespiratory disease are but three examples of the significant health risks and diseases faced by children as a result of a combination of insufficient physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle; and
     WHEREAS, Based on the Washington Healthy Youth survey, more than ten percent of adolescents are overweight and an additional ten percent are at risk for being overweight; and
     WHEREAS, Nationally, the percent of children who are overweight has tripled in the last thirty years; and
     WHEREAS, To counter these trends, public schools must be supported to implement high quality physical education to include lifetime sport and lifetime fitness as integral aspects of a complete health and fitness curriculum; and
     WHEREAS, Beginning in the 2009-10 school year, all Washington public schools must assess students' knowledge and skills in health and fitness based on the essential academic learning requirements through classroom-based assessments in elementary, middle, and high school; and
     WHEREAS, Washington students are held to the same expectations regarding their knowledge and skills in health and fitness as they are for other subjects not tested on the Washington assessment of student learning; and
     WHEREAS, As a result, there is little logic for Washington students not to have a highly qualified teacher for health and fitness, including physical education, when a highly qualified teacher is required for history, government, geography, economics, civics, and the arts; and
     WHEREAS, The federal No Child Left Behind Act does not mention or reference physical education as a core academic subject area;
     NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that the President and Congress make a positive change in the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act to include health and fitness, including physical education, as a core academic subject area, to be taught by highly qualified teachers.
     BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of Education, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.