Physical education curriculum; require full implementation in all K-12 schools.

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To: Education
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Brown

HOUSE BILL NO. 1088

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-13-134, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REQUIRE LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO FULLY IMPLEMENT A PHYSICAL 2
EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN ALL K-12 SCHOOLS AND ALIGN TO THE 3
MISSISSIPPI PHYSICAL EDUCATION FRAMEWORK ADOPTED BY THE STATE 4
BOARD OF EDUCATION AND ANY AMENDMENT MADE THERETO; TO PROVIDE THAT 5
SCHOOL DISTRICTS FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT 6
SHALL HAVE THE ALLOWABLE PORTION OF THEIR ADEQUATE EDUCATION 7
PROGRAM FUNDS, WHICH ARE DEVOTED TO PHYSICAL EDUCATION, REDUCED IN 8
PROPORTION TO ITS PER PUPIL EXPENDITURE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 9
WHEREAS, physical education, an academic subject 10
characterized by a planned, sequential K–12 curriculum based on 11
the national standards, is the foundation of a comprehensive 12
school physical activity program which provides cognitive content 13
and instruction designed to develop motor skills, knowledge and 14
behaviors for physical activity and physical fitness; and 15
WHEREAS, nationwide, only 27% of high school students are 16
physically active every day for at least 60 minutes, and despite 17
the evidence showing that students can get many of their physical 18
activity minutes during physical education, many students do not 19
attend physical education; and 20
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WHEREAS, while many states require K-12 students to 21
participate in some level of physical education, many physical 22
education practices can be improved; and 23
WHEREAS, 76% of K-12 schools allow students to be exempted 24
from physical education requirements for one grading period or 25
longer; 68% of K-12 schools allow students to be excused from one 26
or more physical education class periods for additional 27
instructional time, remedial work, or test preparation for other 28
subjects; 66% of K-12 schools prohibit staff from excluding 29
students from all or part of physical education to punish them for 30
bad behavior or failure to complete class work in another class; 31
and 59% of K-12 schools require all staff who teach physical 32
education to have continuing education credits on physical 33
education topics or instructional strategies; and 34
WHEREAS, the many benefits of physical education in schools 35
include: increasing students' level of physical activity; 36
improving students' grades and standardized test scores; aiding 37
students in remaining on-task in the classroom; and promoting 38
long-term cognitive health awareness; and 39
WHEREAS, Mississippi ranks last, or close to last in the 40
nation, in almost every leading health outcome, and these health 41
disparities are significantly worse for those who have 42
systematically faced obstacles to health due to their 43
socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual 44
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orientation, geographic location, and other characteristics 45
historically linked to discrimination or exclusion; and 46
WHEREAS, the result of these inequities result in a 47
disproportionate burden of disease and illness that is borne by 48
racial and ethnic minority populations and the rural and urban 49
poor, which in turn limits the overall improvements in quality of 50
care, the health status for the broader population, and results in 51
unnecessary costs; and 52
WHEREAS, in order to maximize the benefits of physical 53
education, the adoption of policies and programs aimed at 54
increasing participation in physical education among all students 55
should be prioritized; NOW, THEREFORE, 56
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 57
SECTION 1. Section 37-13-134, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 58
amended as follows: 59
37-13-134. (1) The Legislature recognizes that there is a 60
problem with Mississippi student inactivity and obesity, and 61
therefore requires the following guidelines for school district 62
physical education, health education and physical activity and 63
fitness classes: 64
(a) Kindergarten through Grade 8: One hundred fifty 65
(150) minutes per week of physical activity-based instruction and 66
forty-five (45) minutes per week of health education instruction, 67
as defined by the State Board of Education. 68
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(b) Grades 9 through 12: One-half (1/2) Carnegie unit 69
requirement in physical education or physical activity for 70
graduation. Beginning with the 2015-2016 Ninth Grade class, an 71
instructional component on the proper administration of 72
cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an automated 73
external defibrillator (AED) shall be included as part of the 74
physical education or health education curriculum. The curricula 75
shall incorporate into the instruction the psychomotor skills 76
necessary to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of an 77
automated external defibrillator as follows: 78
(i) An instructional program developed by the 79
American Heart Association or the American Red Cross; 80
(ii) An instructional program which is nationally 81
recognized and is based on the most current national 82
evidence-based Emergency Cardiovascular Care guidelines for 83
cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external 84
defibrillator; 85
(iii) A licensed teacher shall not be required to 86
be a certified trainer of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, to 87
facilitate, provide or oversee such instruction for 88
noncertification; and 89
(iv) Courses which result in a certification being 90
earned must be taught by an authorized CPR/AED instructor. 91
For purposes of this paragraph (b), the term "psychomotor 92
skills" means the use of hands-on practicing to support cognitive 93
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learning. Cognitive-only training does not qualify as 94
"psychomotor skills." 95
The requirements of this paragraph (b) shall be minimum 96
requirements. Any local school district shall be authorized to 97
offer CPR and AED instruction for longer periods of time than 98
required herein, and may enhance the curriculum and training 99
components. 100
(c) The State Department of Education shall establish a 101
procedure for monitoring adherence by school boards to the 102
requirements set forth in this section and the full implementation 103
of a physical educational curriculum for all public K-12 students. 104
The physical education curriculum adopted by local school 105
boards shall provide that all instruction in physical education, 106
health education and physical activity must be * * * aligned to 107
the 2013-2014 Mississippi Physical Education Framework adopted by 108
the State Board of Education and any subsequent amendments made 109
thereunto by the board. Failure of a local school board to comply 110
with the requirements of this section shall result in the district 111
under the local school board's governing authority having the 112
allowable portion of its adequate education program funds, which 113
are devoted to physical education, reduced in proportion to its 114
per pupil expenditure. 115
(2) Beginning with the 2006-2007 school year, each local 116
school board shall, consistent with regulations adopted by the 117
State Board of Education, adopt a school wellness plan which shall 118
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promote a healthy lifestyle for Mississippi's school children and 119
staff. Beginning with the 2008-2009 school year, the school 120
wellness plan shall also promote increased physical activity, 121
healthy eating habits and abstinence from the use of tobacco and 122
illegal drugs through programs that incorporate healthy lifestyle 123
choices into core subject areas which may be developed in 124
partnership with the Institute for America's Health. 125
(3) Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the State 126
Board of Education, in consultation with the State Department of 127
Health, shall have the authority to establish a school health 128
pilot program to improve student health so that all students can 129
fully participate and be successful in school. The school health 130
pilot program shall be implemented in local school districts, as 131
provided in Section 37-13-134.1. 132
(4) The Legislature shall appropriate sufficient 133
state-source funds for the State Department of Education to employ 134
a physical activity coordinator to assist districts on current and 135
effective practices and on implementation of physical education 136
and physical activity programs. 137
(5) The physical activity coordinator employed under Section 138
37-13-133 must have the qualifications prescribed in any of the 139
following paragraphs, which are listed in the order of preference: 140
(a) A doctorate in physical education, exercise science 141
or a highly related field, and at least three (3) years of 142
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experience in teaching physical education in Grades K-12 or in 143
physical activity promotion/fitness leadership; or 144
(b) A master's degree in physical education, exercise 145
science or a highly related field, and at least five (5) years of 146
experience in teaching physical education in Grades K-12 or in 147
physical activity promotion/fitness leadership; or 148
(c) A bachelor's degree in physical education, a 149
teacher's license, and at least seven (7) years of experience in 150
teaching physical education in Grades K-12 or in physical activity 151
promotion/fitness leadership. 152
(6) The Governor's Commission on Physical Fitness and Sports 153
created under Section 7-1-551 et seq., the Mississippi Council on 154
Obesity Prevention and Management created under Section 41-101-1 155
et seq., the Task Force on Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention 156
created under Section 41-103-1 et seq., the Mississippi Alliance 157
for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and the 158
Mississippi Alliance for School Health shall provide 159
recommendations to the State Department of Education regarding the 160
employment of the physical activity coordinator. The department 161
shall consider the recommendations of those entities in employing 162
the physical activity coordinator. 163
(7) The physical activity coordinator shall present a state 164
physical activity plan each year to the Governor's Commission on 165
Physical Fitness and Sports, the Mississippi Council on Obesity 166
Prevention and Management, the Task Force on Heart Disease and 167
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Stroke Prevention, the Mississippi Alliance for Health, Physical 168
Education, Recreation and Dance, and the Mississippi Alliance for 169
School Health. 170
(8) The physical activity coordinator shall monitor the 171
districts for adherence to current Mississippi school 172
accountability standards and for implementation of the physical 173
education curriculum on file with the State Department of 174
Education. The State Department of Education shall monitor and 175
act as a clearinghouse for the activities of the local school 176
health councils established pursuant to subsection (9) of this 177
section. 178
(9) (a) The local school board of each school district 179
shall establish a local school health council for each school 180
which shall ensure that local community values are reflected in 181
the local school's wellness plan to address school health. Such 182
councils shall be established no later than November 1, 2006. 183
(b) The local school health council's duties shall 184
include, but not be limited to, the following: 185
(i) Recommend age-appropriate curriculum and the 186
number of hours of instruction to be provided in health and 187
physical activity-based education, provided that the number of 188
hours shall not be less than that required by this section; 189
(ii) Recommend appropriate practices that include 190
a coordinated approach to school health designed to prevent 191
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obesity, cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes and other health 192
risks, through coordination of: 193
1. Health education; 194
2. Physical education; 195
3. Nutritional services; 196
4. Parental/Community involvement; 197
5. Instruction to prevent the use of tobacco, 198
drugs and alcohol; 199
6. Physical activity; 200
7. Health services; 201
8. Healthy environment; 202
9. Counseling and psychological services; 203
10. Healthy lifestyles; and 204
11. Staff wellness. 205
(iii) Provide guidance on the development and 206
implementation of the local school wellness plan. 207
(c) The local school board shall appoint members to the 208
local school health council. At a minimum, the school board shall 209
appoint one (1) person from each of the following groups: 210
(i) Parents who are not employed by the school 211
district; 212
(ii) The director of local school food services; 213
(iii) Public schoolteachers; 214
(iv) Public school administrators; 215
(v) District students; 216
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ST: Physical education curriculum; require full
implementation in all K-12 schools.
(vi) Health care professionals; 217
(vii) The business community; 218
(viii) Law enforcement; 219
(ix) Senior citizens; 220
(x) The clergy; 221
(xi) Nonprofit health organizations; and 222
(xii) Faith-based organizations. 223
(10) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit 224
or limit the sale or distribution of any food or beverage item 225
through fund-raisers conducted by students, teachers, school 226
groups, or parent groups when the items are intended for sale off 227
the school campus. 228
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 229
and after July 1, 2026. 230