BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2705
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 28, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2705 (Hall) - As Amended: April 14, 2010
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires specified time periods to be spent on
specific physical fitness activities in the After School
Education and Safety (ASES) program and as part of physical
education (PE) instruction in grades 1-12 by the beginning of
the 2013-14 school year, as specified. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires a physical fitness element of the ASES program, by
the beginning of the 2013-14 school year, to include at least
30 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity
as defined in the PE Model Content Standards and PE Framework
adopted by the State Board of Education (SBE).
2)Authorizes an ASES program to utilize the California After
School Physical Activity (CASPA) Guidelines to design the
physical fitness element.
3)Specifies an ASES program is not required to report to the
State Department of Education (SDE) each pupil's participation
in physical fitness.
4)Requires 50% of PE instruction in grades 1-12 be spent in
moderate to vigorous physical activity as defined in the PE
content standards and framework adopted by SBE.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential GF/98 state reimbursable mandated costs, likely
between $700,000 and $2.5 million, to require 50% of PE
instruction in grades 1-12 be spent in moderate to vigorous
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physical activity as defined in the PE content standards and
framework adopted by SBE. Actual costs will depend on size
and types of claims districts submit to the Commission on
State Mandates to implement this measure. There are 5.8
million pupils enrolled in grades 1-12.
2)GF/98 cost pressure at least $1 million to provide
professional development to ASES program staff on 30 minutes
per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity, as
specified. There are approximately 200,000 ASES program
staff.
The 2009 Budget Act allocated $547 million for the ASES
program, which provides 400,000 slots each day to elementary
and middle school children. This program is one of four
categorical programs funded entirely with GF/98 monies that
did not receive a 19.8% reduction. Likewise, the ASES program
is one of 21 categorical programs that are not included in the
budget flexibility. Therefore, local education agencies
(LEAs) cannot redirect this funding for any other educational
purpose.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . In September 2009, the California School Boards
Association (CSBA) released a research brief entitled:
Physical Activity and PE in California Schools. The brief
states: "Research shows that students who participate in daily
physical activity exhibit a more positive attitude towards
school, better attendance and increased academic performance.
However, children are less physically active than ever before.
Nearly 40 percent of California children are not physically
fit, and the prevalence of obesity among school-age children
has more than doubled for children aged 6-11 years (from 7
percent to 17 percent) and more than tripled for children aged
12-19 years (from 5 percent to 18 percent) in the past 30
years."
According to the author, "Childhood obesity rates have
skyrocketed in California. Over 33% of adolescents ages 12 to
17 years old, and one in three California children ages 9-11
years old are at risk of becoming overweight. A combination
of poor diet and lack of physical activity has caused these
children to be at greater risk of major chronic diseases such
as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer when reaching
adulthood. [This bill] is a multi-track approach to combat
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child obesity by requiring K-12 students enrolled in PE
courses to spend at least 50% of the class time in moderate to
vigorous physical activity and require after school programs
utilizing Proposition 49 funds to incorporate at least 30
minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity."
This bill is sponsored by the governor.
2)Current law requires pupils in grades 9-12 to complete two PE
courses in order to receive a high school diploma. Statute
also requires PE instruction for not less than 200 minutes
every 10 school days for pupils in grades K-6. Pupils in
grades 7-12, inclusive, are required to attend PE courses for
not less than 400 minutes every 10 schooldays. Pupils in
grades 1-8 attending an elementary school are required to
receive PE instruction for a total period of time not less
than 200 minutes every 10 schooldays. This bill requires 50%
of PE instruction in grades 1-12 be spent in moderate to
vigorous physical activity as defined in the PE content
standards and framework adopted by SBE.
AB 1793 (Migden), Chapter 943, Statutes of 2002, requires SDE
to monitor the number of hours of physical education
instruction offered to pupils in grades 1 to 12, inclusive. It
also requires the SBE to adopt content standards for PE.
Statute also requires school districts to administer an annual
physical fitness test, designated by the SBE, to all fifth,
seventh, and ninth graders annually. The physical fitness test
designated for California public school students is the
FITNESSGRAM, developed by The Cooper Institute. The test
assesses six major fitness areas, including aerobic capacity
(cardiovascular endurance), body composition (percentage of
body fat), abdominal strength and endurance, trunk strength
and flexibility, upper body strength and endurance, and
overall flexibility.
3)The PE content standards , established pursuant to Chapter 943,
provide that "moderate-intensity physical activity generally
requires sustained rhythmic movements and refers to a level of
effort a healthy individual might expend while, for example,
walking briskly, dancing, swimming, or bicycling on level
terrain. A person should feel some exertion but should be able
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to carry on a conversation comfortably during the activity."
The standards also state: "vigorous-intensity physical
activity generally requires sustained, rhythmic movements and
refers to a level of effort a healthy individual might expend
while, for example, jogging, participating in high-impact
aerobic dancing, swimming continuous laps, or bicycling
uphill. Vigorous-intensity physical activity may be intense
enough to result in a significant increase in heart and
respiration rate."
4)LEA challenges in addressing physical activity and PE . CSBA's
research is based on an online survey sent to 2,669 California
school board members. The survey yielded 339 responses for a
response rate of 13%. The survey data included responses from
school districts and county offices of education (COEs) of
various sizes and income levels in every geographic region
throughout the state. This survey asked board members to
identify important barriers and challenges in addressing
physical activity and PE instruction. The research brief
states: "the three key barriers respondents identified as
'very significant' and 'somewhat significant' were impact on
the budget, limited time in a school day and competing
district/CO E priorities. Additional barriers and challenges
that were either 'very significant' or 'somewhat significant'
for lower income districts/COEs were lack of parent/community
support (66 percent), lack of tools/resources available to
develop, implement and monitor policies and practices (60
percent), inclement weather conditions (58 percent) and lack
of student interest/engagement (54 percent)."
5)The ASES program . In 2002, the voters approved Proposition
49, which expanded existing before and after school programs
and renamed them the ASES program. Proposition 49 has the
effect of requiring the state to allocate $550 million
annually for before and after school programs. State funding
for the ASES program is continuously appropriated and no
longer requires approval by the Legislature as part of the
annual budget act. The amount of additional funding pursuant
to Proposition 49 will be added to the Proposition 98 base in
future years. ASES, as modified by Proposition 49, has two
main goals: keeping students safe after school and improving
student academic outcomes.
Statute requires each component of a program to consist of two
elements: (a) an educational and literacy element and an
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educational enrichment element. The educational enrichment
element may include fine arts, career technical education,
recreation, physical fitness, and prevention activities. This
bill proposes to add a third element to a program component:
30 minutes per day of specific physical fitness activity.
There are approximately 4,000 elementary and middle schools
that provide an ASES program.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081