Standards established; status reports to parents; decrease in student to physical education teacher ratio

(A)(1) The goal of this article is to provide every public school student in four-year-old kindergarten through eighth grade with a prescribed amount of time in physical education and/or of physical activity daily. (2) Beginning in the 2028-2029 School Year, students in kindergarten through fifth grade must be provided a minimum of one hundred fifty minutes a week of physical education and physical activity, a majority of which must be physical education. Students in sixth grade through eighth grade must be provided a minimum of sixty hours of physical education and physical activity during each school year, a majority of which must be physical education. Physical education courses offered in kindergarten through eighth grade must meet academic standards adopted by the State Board of Education. The certified physical education teacher to student ratio is designed to provide students in kindergarten through eighth grade with scheduled physical education and must be based on the South Carolina Physical Education Curriculum Standards. The student to teacher ratio in a physical education class may not exceed the average student to teacher ratio as specified in the defined program. An individual student's fitness status must be reported to his parent or guardian during a student's fifth grade, eighth grade, and high school physical education courses. The physical activity must be planned and coordinated by the certified/licensed Physical Education Activity Director pursuant to Section 59-10-30. (3) Every student in four-year-old kindergarten through fifth grade must be provided a minimum of twenty minutes of unstructured outdoor recess daily, with allowance for short-term interruption not to exceed three consecutive school days due to facility and staffing availability, in addition to the time required to meet existing physical education standards of this title and other academic curriculum requirements. (4) In the event of inclement weather, the school shall hold recess period indoors as conducive to allowing physical activity as practical. Recess periods may not be used to fulfill any curriculum or physical education requirements and cannot be removed as a form of punishment to an individual or group more than two days per week. (B) A student may be exempted from these physical education and activity requirements required by subsection (A) by seeking a waiver as outlined in Section 59-29-80(B). (C) Each district shall annually report to the State Department of Education by June fifteenth, the number of minutes of physical education instruction and the minutes of additional physical activity students receive daily with a total for the week. The report must be listed by school and by individual class and grade level. The State Department of Education shall provide a summary of this information to the General Assembly by December first of each year. (D) The implementation of the requirements of Section 59-10-10(A) shall not result in the replacement or reduction of time dedicated to instruction in the arts taught by certified arts specialists.