RSS Feed |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Louise ISD reviews child exercise regulations, changes in truancy laws Louise students will become more physically fit, school trustees said Monday night as they discussed new state expectations including a required daily exercise period and the possibility of enrolling considerably older students. Current school policy requires only elementary students have 30 minutes of physical education each day. Effective for the 2008-2009 school year, lower middle school students will be required to have 30 minutes of physical education as well. Students in grades Kindergarten through sixth will be required to do exercises like, but not limited to, jogging, walking, and playing sports each day. Along with the fitness policy comes the requirement for districts to annually assess the physical fitness of students in grades 3-12. Making sure students are getting enough physical exercise will be included in the "grade" the district receives each year from the state. Superintendent Andy Peters called it a "TAKS test for physical fitness," adding it will be required of all students in grades 3-12 "even if they are not in a P.E. or athletics class." Texas school districts now have the option to extend compulsory attendance laws to students 18 and over who voluntarily attend or enroll in school. "In the past, the day they turned 18 they could walk out and we couldn't do anything about it. Now if they are in school a day after their 18th birthday (High School Principal Diana Blumrick) can file compulsory attendance laws against them," Peters said. Louise has several seniors who fall under this age category. If the district opts to apply the non-attendance rules to these students, it only applies to them. The parent will not be held legally responsible for the truancy. The policy does not apply to a student who has formally dropped out of school. Fortunately, Louise does not have many problems with dropouts, Peters said. The policy also permits districts to admit students up to age 25 working toward their high school diploma. Currently LISD will accept students under the age of 21. Other changes in state law include:
The principal can assign the student to write a paper or assign them extra work to do in order to earn credit for their classes.
Board member David Menefee asked if LISD would have trained personnel throughout the campus to avoid a long response time in case of an emergency. LISD currently owns one defibrillator and will be purchasing a few more next week. The cost for each defibrillator is about $1,500. There are several faculty members that have already been trained to use this equipment. The board voted unanimously to accept all changes with all seven members present. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
