December 20, 2010

Two court cases this month put California's public schools on notice. In one, the court ruled that schools no longer could ignore the state's requirements for physical education; a survey had found that fully half the schools in the state were providing fewer hours of gym instruction than the law requires in an effort to save money or to devote more hours in the day to teaching. In the other case, the state reached an out-of-court settlement in which it pledged that its schools would stop charging parents for basic supplies, and would provide parents with a way to challenge what they believe to be illegal fees.

These were the right outcomes. Individual schools and school districts can't unilaterally decide how many hours of gym students will get; physical activity is important to children's development, just as English and math lessons are. And parents shouldn't have to worry about whether they can afford to