Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
The requirements of this Section apply to a school's
provision of physical education required under Section 27-6 of the Code.
a) There shall be a definite school policy
regarding credit earned each semester in physical education, with provisions
for allowable variables in special cases.
b) Participation in a physical education
course shall be required of all students a minimum of three days per five day
instructional week except when an appropriate medical excuse is submitted (see
Section 1.425(d)) . A school board may also choose to allow for student
exemptions as permitted by Section 27-6 of the Code (see Section 1.425(e)) . If
a student nonattendance day is scheduled for a day that would otherwise include
physical education or the school building is not open to students, physical
education for that day does not need to be made up (e.g., if physical education
is regularly scheduled for Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but a teacher
inservice is scheduled on a given Monday, physical education for that Monday
does not have to be moved to Tuesday or Thursday.) However, school districts
shall make every effort to ensure all students have the ability to participate
in physical education at least three days per week even when school is in
session fewer than five days in a given week.
c)
The physical education and
training course offered in grades 5 through 10 may include health
education (Section 27-5 of the Code).
d) Pursuant to Section 27-6(a) of the Code, a
student who presents an appropriate excuse from his or her parent or guardian
or from a person licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 [225 ILCS 60 ]
shall be excused from participation in physical education.
1) Each school board shall honor excuses
signed by persons licensed under the Medical Practice Act of 1987 and shall
establish a policy defining the types of parental excuses it will deem
appropriate for this purpose, which shall include, but not be limited to,
reliance upon religious prohibitions.
2) For each type of excuse that will be
considered appropriate, the school board shall identify in its policy any
evidence or support it will require. For example, a board may require a signed
statement from a member of the clergy corroborating the religious basis of a
request.
3)
Special
activities in physical education shall be provided for pupils whose physical or
emotional condition, as determined by a person licensed under the Medical
Practice Act of 1987, prevents their participation in the
courses provided for normal children (Section 27-6 of the
Code).
e) Under Section
27-6(b) of the Code, a school board may excuse pupils from engaging in
physical education courses if those pupils request to be excused for any of the
reasons listed in this subsection (e). A school board that
chooses to allow any of these exemptions shall establish a policy to excuse
pupils on an individual basis. The district shall maintain records
showing that, in disposing of each request to be excused from physical
education, the district applied the criteria set forth in Section 27-6 of the
Code to the student's individual circumstances.
1) School districts shall have guidelines for
the return of students who have been excused from a physical education course
pursuant to subsections (e)(2) through (4). These guidelines shall return the
student to a physical education course as soon as practical. When creating
these guidelines, a school district shall take into consideration the
following:
A) The time in the school year when
participation ceases;
B) Any future
or planned additional participation pursuant to subsections (e)(2) through (4)
by a student; and
C) Student class
schedules.
2)
Students in grades 7-12 on a case-by-case basis, for ongoing
participation in an interscholastic (e.g., Illinois Elementary
School Association, the Southern Illinois Junior High Athletic Association, and
Illinois High School Association) or extracurricular athletic
program. Interscholastic and extracurricular athletic programs are
limited to those programs that are sponsored by the school district as defined
by school district policy.
3)
Students in grades 11-12
A) ongoing
participation in interscholastic athletics;
B)
enrollment in a course required
for admittance into postsecondary education; or
C)
enrollment in a course required
for high school graduation, provided that failure to take such classes will
result in the pupil being unable to graduate.
4) Students in grades 9-12
A) ongoing participation in marching
band for credit; or
B)
enrollment in a Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) program
sponsored by the school district.
5) Students in grades 3-12
A)
eligibility for special education
services and the student's parent or guardian agrees, or there is a
determination by the student's individualized education program (IEP) team,
that the student needs this time for special education support and
services; or
B)
participation in an adaptive athletic program outside school setting as
outlined in the student's IEP and as documented according to school board
policy. (See Section 27-6 of the Code.)
6) A board shall have no authority to honor
parental excuses based upon students' participation in athletic training,
activities or competitions conducted outside the auspices of the school
district.
f) Under
Section 27-6(b-5) of the Code, a pupil shall be excused from engaging
in any physical activity components of a physical education course during a
period of religious fasting if the pupil's parent or guardian notifies the
school principal in writing that the pupil is participating in religious
fasting.
g) Assessment and
Reporting
In accordance with Section 27-6.5 of the Code, each school
shall use a scientifically-based, health-related physical fitness
assessment for grades 3 through 12 and periodically report fitness information
to the State Board of Education to assess student fitness indicators. If the
Governor has declared a disaster due to a public health emergency pursuant to
Section 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, no student shall be
required to participate in a physical fitness assessment for the duration of
that declaration. (Section 27-6.5 of the Act)
1) For the purposes of this subsection (g),
each school shall administer the FitnessGram®
(
http://www.fitnessgram.net/;
also see subsection (g)(3)) to students in grades 3 through 12 (except as noted
in subsection (g)(1)(A) and as exempted under Section 27-6 of the Code) for the
components and using the test items listed in subsections (g)(1)(A) through
(g)(1)(D). Beginning in school year 2016-17, the
FitnessGram® shall be administered at least
annually in the second semester of the school year; however, schools also are
encouraged to administer the assessment at the start of the school year in
order to receive pre- and post-results.
A)
Aerobic Capacity, grades 4 through 12, either the PACER test or the Mile Run
test.
B) Flexibility, either the
Back-Saver Sit and Reach test or the Trunk Lift test.
C) Muscular Endurance, the Curl-up
test.
D) Muscular Strength, the
Push-up test.
2) As
applicable, a school shall use the methodologies of the Brockport Physical
Fitness Testing accessible at
http://www.pyfp.org/ to meet the
requirements of this subsection (g) for any student with known orthopedic,
intellectual and/or visual disabilities whose Individualized Education Program
(IEP) and/or 504 Plan identifies the
FitnessGram® as not appropriate.
3) In order to ensure that the
FitnessGram® and Brockport protocols are
followed, school personnel administering the assessments shall participate in
training related to the proper administration and scoring of the assessment by
reviewing the chapters of the Fitness Gram® Test
Administration Manual titled "Test Administration", "Aerobic Capacity", and
"Muscular Strength, Endurance and Flexibility" and, if applicable, the
Brockport Physical Fitness Test Manual for students with disabilities, which
are accessible at
http://www.pyfp.org/. Each school district
shall maintain evidence of an individual's successful completion of the
training and make it available to the State Board upon request.
4)
Fitness scores shall not be used
for grading students or evaluating teachers under the provisions of
Article 24A of the School Code (Section 27-6.5(b) of the Code).
5) Each school district shall annually report
aggregate data regarding the total number of students whose fitness results for
each of the components listed in subsection (g)(1) were identified as meeting
the "healthy fitness zone" or as "needs improvement zone".
A) Data shall be submitted electronically to
the State Board no later than June 30 of each school year, beginning in school
year 2016-17, using the Illinois State Board of Education Web Application
Security System (IWAS).
B) Data
shall be reported for students in grades 5, 7 and 10 only and include:
i) the total number of students tested by
grade and gender;
ii) the total
number of students achieving at the "healthy fitness zone" by grade and
gender;
iii) the total number of
students identified as "needs improvement zone" by grade and gender.
h)
Each school district shall establish procedures and protocols to ensure the
confidentiality of individual student assessment results consistent with the
requirements of the Illinois School Student Records Act [105 ILCS 10 ] and the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20
USC 1232g) .
