Nearly half of city students did not get the state-mandated minimum of gym class for the school year that ended in June, newly published city data show.
Figures posted on the city Education Department website on Aug. 31 show that elementary school students suffered from the lowest level of physical education, with just 25.4% of them receiving the state minimum.
Middle school kids and high schoolers fared better, with 79.7% and 77.9% receiving minimum levels of gym classes, respectively.
Critics said that public school students are suffering from the city’s failure to provide adequate gym classes in a dismal situation that has persisted for years.
“It’s bad for students to miss gym class,” said NYC Parents Union founder Mona Davids. “Kids are suffering both mentally and physically because of the lack of physical education that they should be getting.”
State law requires the city to provide two hours of physical education per week for elementary school kids. Junior high and high school students are supposed to get 90 minutes each week.
City and state education officials wouldn’t say if the city faces consequences for failing to meet those minimums.
In October, the City Council passed a law requiring schools to make online posts breaking down minutes of gym per week by school and by grade.
The law was drafted after a May 2015 report from Controller Scott Stringer found 32% of the city’s 1,700 public schools with no full-time, certified gym teachers and 28% with no indoor space for physical exercise.
The findings were based on city Education surveys of school leaders from 2012-14. Education spokeswoman Toya Holness said the de Blasio administration is devoting resources to fix the problem, promising that all city elementary schools will meet state requirements by June 2019.
“We’re investing $100 million over the next four years to expand our programs by hiring over 500 certified physical education teachers,” she said.
