Saw Island Foundation

Aaron Marineau / The Hutchinson News via AP fileNickerson Elementary School third-graders dash under a rainbow colored tarp before it falls back down on them in Hutchinson, Kan., on April 25, 2013.

”Children who are more active show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed, and perform better on standardized academic tests than children who are less active,” according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine.Children need a full hour of exercise in schools every day, and not just in physical education classes, the Institute of Medicine recommended on Thursday.Schools that have dumped education classes need to put them back on the schedule, the report recommends. They also need to help kids get up and moving in the classroom, at recess and after school, a committee of experts appointed by the Institute reported.The panel acknowledged they are adding pressure to schools that have been forced to add days of standardized testing to the schedule, as well as hours of instruction and preparation for the tests. But the committee said children not only need the exercise for their health – they need it so they can learn better.

via Bring back PE: Exercise should be core class, report says – Health – TODAY.com.

Thirty-seven California school districts are asking teachers to prove that students are receiving the mandated amount of time for physical education amid allegations that schools are shirking those requirements and reports of high obesity rates among children, the Los Angeles Times reports.Under the state Education Code, schools must provide 200 minutes of physical education for every 10 days of class for students in kindergarten through sixth grade.

via Calif. Schools Address Lawsuit Over Physical Activity Requirements – California Healthline.