PE Jumps First Legislative Hurdle- with a small bruise

Thursday morning, February 19, the physical education bill (HF 439) passed the House K-12 Education Policy committee! The bill now heads to the House K-12 Education Finance committee. We are still waiting for our Senate hearing to be scheduled.

We had an impressive line-up for testimony.
Dr. John Ratey MD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School with a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
Greg LeMond, Three time Tour de France winner
Jack Olwell, Physical education teacher at North Trail Elementary School in Farmington.Teacher since 1978; named Farmington teacher of the year
Steven Geis, Principal, North Trail Elementary School, Farmington.

Despite our awesome testimony, there is some opposition to this bill. The Minnesota School Boards Association testified against the bill and offered an amendment for a limited waiver for students to opt-out of the graduation requirement. The lobbying team was expecting this move and is working to remove it as the legislative process moves forward. The AHA does not support waivers!

We will need your help to ensure the physical education bill stays strong! Stay tuned for updates!

Congratulations to everyone who helped get the bill past our first hurdle at the legislature including our lobbying team and the grassroots advocates who contacted legislators. Some local news stations also reported on this issue, including Kare 11.

Check out these great pictures from the hearing!
Courtesy of MN House of Rep./Tom Olmscheid

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