News from Advocacy Committee…

SCAHPERD Tackles Legislative Concerns for Health, Physical, and Dance Education

Greetings everyone! The SCAHPERD Advocacy Committee has been diligently following key legislative activity that directly affects the fields of health, physical education, and dance in our great state. Here's what you need to know about what's going on at the statehouse and the ways we're stepping up our advocacy efforts.

The three pieces of legislation currently under close scrutiny are S148, H3731, and S516. For easier comparison, their main points are outlined in the table below.

Bill No.	Key Amendments
S148	Amend SC Code of Laws to require 8:30am start for public school students, increase physical activity minutes, require daily physical activity, and designate physical activity directors in middle schools.
H3731	Amend SC Code of Laws to require 45-60 minutes of daily unstructured and self-directed recess for students in 4K-5th grade and 30-45 minutes for students in 6th-8th grade. This recess must be held indoors during inclement weather without the use of electronic devices. However, this bill also removes the requirement outlining schools' required amount of physical education time.
S516	A duplicate of H3731 but presented in the senate.

What makes these bills particularly significant is the profound impact they have on the manner in which physical activity is structured, scheduled, and enforced within our schools. While any legislation that promotes greater physical activity is welcomed, the potential ramifications, such as the removal of required physical education time as outlined in H3731 and S516, must be carefully examined.

Regarding financial legislative matters, this year saw another teacher pay increase of $2,500, which is always positive news. However, some of the funding for this increase was attained by integrating funds from the Student Health and Fitness Act into the schools' general fund. This move has raised concerns about the future enforceability of all components of the Student Health and Fitness Act, and interpretations vary widely.

Beyond monitoring legislative activity, the Advocacy Committee has been striving to create a statewide PE teacher listserv. This will enable us to connect with both SCAHPERD members and non-members alike. Our current listserv includes 804 teachers, covering 45% of all districts. We are eager to extend our reach further. If you are interested in contributing to building the listserv, we warmly welcome your input and assistance specifically in the following districts which remain incomplete. If you are interested in assisting please reach out to Adam Keath at Keath_aj@mercer.edu 

Abbeville County School District	Laurens County School District 55	Orangeburg Consolidated School District 5	Spartanburg County School District 6
Anderson County School District 3	Laurens County School District 56	Pickens County School District	Spartanburg County School District 7
Chesterfield County School District	Lee County School District	Richland County School District 1	Sumter School District
Dorchester School District 4	Lexington County School District 1	Richland County School District 2	Union County School District
Greenville County Schools	Lexington County School District 2	Saluda County Schools	Williamsburg County School District
Greenwood School District 50	Lexington County School District 3	Spartanburg County School District 1	York County School District 1
Greenwood School District 51	Lexington County School District 4	Spartanburg County School District 2	York County School District 2
Greenwood School District 52	Lexington County School District 5	Spartanburg County School District 3	York County School District 3
Kershaw County School District	Orangeburg Consolidated School District 3	Spartanburg County School District 4
Lancaster County School District	Orangeburg Consolidated School District 4	Spartanburg County School District 5

In closing, as Advocacy Committee members, we continue to dedicate ourselves to promoting and protecting health, physical education, and dance in our schools. As the legislative landscape evolves, rest assured we'll be here, ready to respond and advocate on behalf of our community.

To join our cause, provide feedback, or ask any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. To learn more about advocacy or share success about your program please check out our SCAHPERD landing page: https://scahperd.org/Advocacy

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