1-30-14 physical education bill

A bill with bipartisan support that would require elementary students in Wisconsin to get at

least half an hour of daily physical education is moving forward.  The Assembly Children and Families Committee held a hearing Wednesday on the bill introduced by Republican Rep. Chad Weininger, of Green Bay.  Current law requires physical education three times a week for an unspecified amount of time. The daily gym class requirement was dropped in the late 1980s.

Weininger's bill would apply to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. It has the

support of a wide array of health groups, including the American Cancer Society and the

Wisconsin Public Health Association.  Data from the state Department of Health Services shows that one in four Wisconsin adolescents are overweight or obese.