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Recommended Initiative 8:

Health, Wellness & Physical Education Curriculum

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Implement mandatory health, wellness, and physical education curricula for all levels of fitness and abilities in every grade K-12 in all schools in the nation, starting with Florida. Included with this should be a school-based Governor's Challenge program that promotes and rewards a variety of life-long physical fitness activities that can serve as an example to the rest of the nation.*

Benefit of Recommended Initiative 8

Physically active children and adults tend to be healthier as regular exercise promotes healthier bodies and better mental health. Encouraging children and teens to choose and maintain healthy, active lifestyles will help youngsters grow into healthy adults more likely to retain healthy habits around physical activities.

*In order to strengthen health, wellness and physical education curricula, Healthy Florida Foundation recommends the following options:

  • Update the Sunshine State Standards to include more rigorous health, wellness and physical education standards at all levels
  • Draft and implement legislation to make physical education mandatory in school.
  • Draft and implement federal legislation requiring states receiving block grants under the Title V-A of the Elementary and Education Secondary Education Act to mandate that high school students take physical education in every grade before graduating.
  • Encourage competition for federal grant awards through the Carol M. White Physical Education for Progress (PEP) program of the U.S. Department of Education.
  • Deploy funds from Florida's A+ School Recognition Program for physical education.
  • Enlist all interest groups already supportive of reinstating mandatory PE in an awareness campaign that addresses the need to secure additional funding or to shift state funds from other programs.
  • Implement a "Governor's Challenge" style education campaign to complement the reinstatement of mandatory PR.