A statewide review of physical fitness released in November found that
nearly half of California's ninth-grade students don't have the stamina to
briskly run one mile. Fewer than a third of the nearly 1.4 million students who
took the test in fifth, seventh and ninth grades met all the minimum benchmarks
in areas such as percentage of body fat, abdominal strength and flexibility. State law requires that elementary students receive 200 minutes of physical
education every 10 school days and double that many for grades 7-12, but the
state conducts few compliance checks.
Schwarzenegger has promoted increased physical activity for students since he
was a member of former President Bush's Council on Physical Fitness. Two bills
aimed at improving school nutrition will take effect this July. One will require foods sold in
school vending machines to meet high nutritional standards and regulate the
number of calories from fat and sugar. The other limits drinks sold at schools
to water, milk and some fruit and sport drinks that have limited sweeteners.
Teachers and schools can register for the program online, where they also can
keep track of their progress against other schools.