Colorado Springs, CO, February 9, 2015– Local physical education teacher, Josh Tutje, from Sproul Jr. High will head to the nation’s capital, February 10-11, to advocate for school health and physical education at the federal level. Tutje and peers from 37 other states will meet face to face with lawmakers to help ensure health and physical education are included in the federal education law known as Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), up for reauthorization in Congress.

Tutje will be advocating as part of SHAPE America’s 7th annual SPEAK Out! Day. This year, SHAPE America is looking to secure support for designating school health and physical education as core academic subjects and will be urging legislators to bring the only federal funding for physical education, the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP), back to its original funding level of $100 million. The funding decreased for fiscal year 2015 to an all-time low of $47 million.

The group of 122 teachers will have the opportunity to share their unique perspective on the impact these dollars make in helping not only sustain but also expand their health and PE programs.

“As a physical educator, I see day in and day out the impact physical education has on all aspects of a student’s life, from improved academics and behavior in the classroom, to increased confidence to excel in other endeavors, both personal and academic, as well as the obvious proven health benefits of being physically active,” says Tutje. “I really hope that strong advocacy like this will help districts like Widefield receive more funds for our PE/Health programs”.

Currently only six states require physical education in all grades K-12 and many states do not provide adequate health education instruction time as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Past participation from SHAPE America members has been critical in securing Congressional support for elevating health and PE to core subject status. Members have also been successful in encouraging their lawmakers to keep PEP from being cut out of the federal budget altogether.
“The Senate has already begun to address ESEA early in this session of Congress, so this is the time to advocate in order to ensure that we are included in the final bill! We look to our members to help push our legislative asks forward and bring policy to life through their unique perspectives as educators,” says Carly Braxton, senior manager of advocacy for SHAPE America.
To follow live updates on SPEAK Out! Day, follow hashtag #SPEAKOutDay on Twitter and join the conversation on Facebook. To learn about the status of physical education in the U.S. with state by start profiles, visit the Shape of the Nation webpage and read the 2012 Shape of the Nation Report, which will be updated later this year. For more event details, visit www.shapeamerica.org.