Currently, Hellgate High School students are required to take three semesters of Physical Education (PE) class in order to graduate. This adds up to around four hours of PE class per week within the semester. While this is great for the health of students who get no other physical activity outside of school, for students involved in outside sports or athletics, it is unnecessary.
Many students believe they can meet the same, if not more, school PE requirements when they are involved in an organized sport. From practices to games, athletes are sure to exceed the four hours a week of activity required in a regular school PE class.
According to Untapped Learning, an education organization out of Colorado, the average high school student athlete spends an average of 10-15 hours per week on with their sport during their season. For example, Piper Wells spends “15-20 hours a week” between games, practices, and training with her softball team at Hellgate High School.
According to PLT4M, a fitness and performance digital training software platform, many schools around the US use a PE waiver for students who believe they should be exempt from their schools’ required PE classes, with a minimum amount of participation in a physical activity or sport. When applying for these forms, students explain their reason for exemption and the hours they spend a week participating in a school sport or an organized sport. With the signature of the student’s coach and a parent or guardian, schools then can either accept or decline the waiver. Students still are required to fill this space in their schedule with another class, as the waiver does not substitute credit.
Before a school can have the option to use the Physical Education Waiver, the state must allow the waiver. PLT4M also states that over 30 states have a physical education waiver form as an option for schools to adopt, but Montana is not currently one of them.
In order for the state to offer this PE waiver, the state government must pass legislation allowing schools within the state to create waivers. After that is passed, each school district can decide whether or not they will provide the waiver in their school.
Though the requirements for these waivers vary from state to state and school to school, an example of a school with a PE waiver in place is Lincoln High School in Seattle, Washington. This school has a well thought out process with specific guidelines for students needing/ requesting a PE waiver.
According to Lincoln High School’s Academic Course Catalog Website, when filling out their form students are asked to answer a series of questions. This includes any previous semesters of PE, if they’ve filled out the form before, if they’ve been a class teacher assistant or have had any open periods, and then selecting which category the student fits into. The categories include directed athletics as well as physical disability, religious belief, military science, employment (self-supporting/ supporting one’s family), and a catch-all category for any other reasonable individual cases, which a student can talk to their counselor about to see if they qualify.
If a student is filling out the waiver for directed athletics and they are in a sport not related to the school, then they fill out an extra page. This includes the dates of practice, the hours of practice, and the coaches signature. Lincoln High School’s requirement is at least 80 hours in one semester for this to qualify as a replacement for one semester of a PE class.
Students are still required to fill their sport’s off season with a PE credit unless they are enrolled in two yearlong electives for all four years of high school including music, theatre, etc. However Lincoln High School still requires the fitness education portion of PE to be met if not enrolled in a PE class through either a fitness education class or by completing a competency test.
Having a PE waiver at schools can help many student athletes get other necessary credits done instead of spending three semesters in a PE class when they are already getting a healthy amount of physical activity daily. Many schools are using these forms, and with the persuasion of the Montana State Government and the Hellgate High School administration, Hellgate High School too can be one of those schools.
