Suchergebnisse

In 2001, the 77th Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 19 (SB19) requiring elementary school children in publicly funded schools to participate in physical activity (PA) and schools to implement a coordinated school health program (CSHP) by September 1, 2007. We report on awareness of and adherence to SB19 in a statewide sample of elementary schools and a subsample in two public health regions located along the Texas/Mexico border. Statewide, structured interviews with principals indicated high awareness of SB19's requirements, but lower awareness of the need for parental involvement. Only 43% of Texas schools had adopted their coordinated program at one year or less prior to implementation deadline. Principals reported an average of 179 minutes of PE per week, higher than the 135 minute mandate. Among subsample border schools, principal PA reports triangulated with teacher logs and student reports. Further, direct observation of PE indicated 50% of class time was spent in MVPA, meeting the recommended level of PA intensity defined by Healthy People 2010. Differences observed by public health regions included: greater PA minutes in Region 10 (231 minutes compared to 217 minutes in Region 11), higher adoption CSHP (92% compared to 75%), more school health advisory committees (SHAC) (58% vs. 38%) and school-level SHACs (83% compared to 25%), and a lower prevalence of obesity in fourth grade students (21% compared to 32%). Differences by region suggest SB19 is not being adhered to equally across the state, and some regions may require further support to increase implementation. Results underscore the importance of continued monitoring of enacted legislation, that school-based legislation for child health requires funding and refinement to produce the original intent of the law.