Oregon bill would require physical-education classes

SALEM, Ore. — Students would have to take a certain number of hours of physical-education class each week under a bill that won a Senate panel's approval, despite criticism from some who said schools can't afford it.

The main backer of the measure, Senate President Peter Courtney, said the minimum requirement is needed to help reduce childhood obesity in a state that's been rated one of the most overweight in the West.

The Salem Democrat displayed a large chunk of translucent yellow rubber to demonstrate what 5 pounds of fat looks like and a diagram of clogged arteries to show obesity's effect on the body.

The Senate Education Committee endorsed the bill to make Oregon the 30th state to set minimum time standards for physical education. Courtney's bill would require elementary-school students to spend at least 2.5 hours a week in gym class while middle schoolers would spend 3.75 hours.

The Oregon Education Association and Oregon School Board Association oppose the bill. They acknowledge that physical education is valuable but say the bill is an unfunded mandate for schools.

"We are not here to say that this is not an issue," said David Williams of the school board association. But "if this program is truly that important, we hope the Legislature will find a way to raise money to fund it."

State School Superintendent Susan Castillo has also said she's worried about the "unintended consequences" of the bill, such as underfunded schools having to cut other programs to pay for physical education.

Dr. Beau Weill of the Oregon Pediatric Society said childhood obesity has consequences for the state budget as well.

"The future costs associated with this increase in obesity are staggering," Weill said. "The money spent on health care and other support for the ravages of obesity will far outweigh what is spent on prevention."

Courtney also stressed that children who are active perform better in school and have better attendance.

The issue now moves to the Legislature's budget-writing panel, the Joint Ways and Means Committee, for more work.

Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, who also sits on the Ways and Means Committee, said that, considering staggering childhood-obesity statistics, there should be a way to find money in the budget to make the legislation feasible for schools.