Physical Education Policies in US Schools: Differences by School Characteristics

We assessed the extent to which schools in the United States implement physical education policies identified in SHAPE America's Essential Components of Physical Education document and how implementation of these policies varies by school characteristics.

School policy data were collected as part of the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study via computer-assisted personal interviews in a nationally representative sample of K-12 schools and were linked to extant data on school characteristics. Bivariate analyses and Poisson regression model were used to examine how physical education policies differed by school characteristics.

Five physical education policies varied by region and 3 varied by school level. Requiring certified, licensed, or endorsed physical education teachers varied by all school characteristics except school level and percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The average number of physical education policies implemented by schools was 3.0. The number of policies varied by metropolitan status and school level.

The findings suggest many schools are only implementing a few of the physical education policies that can strengthen their physical education programs. These findings can be used to target professional development and technical assistance for physical education practitioners on policy and implementation.