BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 138
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Fuller |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |March 18, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: March 25, 2015 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Physical education: exemption: high school rodeo
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes school districts to exempt high school
students from physical education courses if the student is
engaged in high school rodeo.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1. Requires students to complete two courses in physical
education as a condition of graduation, unless otherwise
exempted. (Education Code § 51225.3)
2. Requires students in grades 7-12, except those exempted,
to attend courses of physical education for not less than
400 minutes each 10 schooldays.
(EC § 51222)
3. Authorizes school districts and county offices of
education to grant exemptions, as follows:
A. A temporary exemption may be granted to a
student who is either:
(1) Ill or injured and a modified
program to meet the needs of the student cannot
be provided.
SB 138 (Fuller) Page 2
of ?
(2) The student is enrolled for
one-half, or less, of the work normally required
of full-time students. (EC § 51241)
A. A two-year exemption anytime during grades
10-12, if the student has satisfactorily met at least
five of the six standards of the physical performance
test. (EC § 51241)
B. A permanent exemption if the student complies
with any of the following:
(1) Is 16 years of age or
older and has been enrolled in the grade 10 for
one academic year or longer.
(2) Is enrolled as a
postgraduate student.
(3) Is enrolled in a juvenile
home, ranch, camp, or forestry camp school where
students are scheduled for recreation and
exercise.
(EC § 51241)
A. A student who is engaged in a regular
school-sponsored interscholastic athletic program
carried on wholly or partially after regular school
hours. (EC § 51242)
1. Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
exercise general supervision over the courses of physical
education in schools, advise schools in the development and
improvement of their physical education and activity
programs, and investigate the work in physical education in
public schools. The CDE is required to ensure that the
data collected through the categorical program monitoring
indicates the extent to which schools, among other things:
A. Provides instruction in physical education for
a total period of time of not less than 400 minutes
each 10 schooldays to students in grades 7-12.
SB 138 (Fuller) Page 3
of ?
B. Conducts physical fitness testing.
C. Provides a course of study in physical
education to high school students that includes a
developmentally appropriate sequence of instruction,
including the effects of physical activity upon
dynamic health, the mechanics of body movement,
aquatics, gymnastics and tumbling, individual and dual
sports, rhythms and dance, team sports, and
combatives. (EC § 33352)
ANALYSIS
This bill authorizes school districts to exempt high school
students from physical education courses if the student is
engaged in high school rodeo. Specifically, this bill:
1. Authorizes the governing board of a school district to
exempt a four-year or senior high school student from
attending physical education courses if the student is
engaged in high school rodeo, wholly or partially after
regular school hours.
2. Makes technical changes by including cross-references of
other existing exemptions in provisions that require
non-exempted students to attend physical education courses
for at least 400 minutes each 10 schooldays.
STAFF COMMENTS
1. Need for the bill. According to the author, many schools
choose to interpret the authority in current law to exempt
from physical education only those students who play
traditional sports. "Often times, the California High
School Rodeo Association athletes are not included in this
exemption."
2. Is this bill necessary? No. Current law authorizes
schools to exempt from physical education courses students
who participate in a "regular school-sponsored
interscholastic athletic program." Education Code § 35179
defines "interscholastic athletics" as policies, programs
and activities that are formulated or executed in
SB 138 (Fuller) Page 4
of ?
conjunction with, or in contemplation of, athletic contests
between two or more schools, either public or private. The
California Interscholastic Federation's (CIF) website lists
rodeo as a "non-CIF sport."
Standards, criteria, or guidance do not exist regarding which
sports may qualify for an exemption. School districts have
great discretion in determining which athletic programs
qualify for an exemption.
A. Does the definition of "interscholastic
athletics" imply that only CIF sports may be
recognized for an exemption, while non-CIF sports do
not?
B. Do CIF sports provide more physical education (in
addition to physical activity) than non-CIF sports
such as rodeo?
3. Slippery slope? Does specifically authorizing
participation in rodeo, and only rodeo, to qualify as an
exemption from physical education set a precedent for
adding one sport or activity at a time? Why not specify
all of these sports and physical activities, such as
marching band, ROTC, and cheerleading, that may qualify for
exemption?
The author and this Committee may wish to consider addressing
the larger policy issues:
A. Which sports and physical activities should
warrant an exemption from physical education courses?
B. Should exemptions for participation in sports and
physical activities meet standards for physical
education courses, similar to the current requirement
for granting physical education credit? California
Code of Regulations § 10060 requires school districts
to appraise the quality of a high school physical
education program based upon whether or not the course
of study provides for instruction in each of the
following areas: effects of physical activity upon
dynamic health, mechanics of body movement, aquatics,
SB 138 (Fuller) Page 5
of ?
gymnastics and tumbling, individual and dual sports,
rhythms and dance, team sports, and combatives.
4. Related and prior legislation.
RELATED LEGISLATION
AB 319 (Rodriguez, 2015) requires high schools to provide
instruction in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) and the use of an automated external defibrillator
(AED) as part of a physical education course or another
course required for graduation. AB 319 is pending in the
Assembly Education Committee.
PRIOR LEGISLATION
AB 223 (Ma, 2009) required the San Francisco Board of Education
to make Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps courses
available to pupils under its jurisdiction in grades 9 to
12. AB 223 was amended to relate to a different subject
matter.
AB 351 (Salas, 2009) authorized a school district that provides
the following courses or programs to exempt any student
participating in such a course or program from attending
courses of physical education and from the physical
education high school graduation requirement:
A. California Cadet Corps.
B. Cheer team or Dance team.
C. Color guard or Drill team.
D. Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps.
E. Marching band.
AB 351 was passed by the Assembly Education Committee,
amended on the Assembly Floor, and re-referred to the
Assembly Education Committee where it was held.
SUPPORT
SB 138 (Fuller) Page 6
of ?
California Circuit Finals Rodeo
California High School Rodeo Association
California Horse Council
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
Rodeo Club Advisor, Oakdale High School
OPPOSITION
California Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance
-- END --