Armed with a NYSUT survey showing that too many schools are shortchanging students in physical education, unionists urged the Assembly Education Committee to put more muscle into enforcing the state's existing — but largely ignored — phys ed requirements for all K-12 students.

In schools across New York state, students are getting shorted due to the pressures of No Child Left Behind testing and budgetary concerns, according to NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira's testimony at a hearing conducted by Assembly Education Chairwoman Cathy Nolan, D-Queens.

The issue was also highlighted by Gov. Spitzer in his State of the State address last month. As part of his Healthy Schools initiative, Spitzer wants to get rid of junk food in schools and beef up enforcement of state-mandated physical education time.

NYSUT's survey of physical education teachers around the state found too many schools are not complying with the state's phys ed requirements. "Our physical education teachers described themselves, in the words of one, as 'totally disheartened' by how many of their schools have eliminated or reduced physical education instruction — all for the sake of raising test scores," Neira said.

This is misguided, Neira noted, because research clearly shows that physical education improves academic performance.

"Studies show that regular exercise improves students' concentration and cognitive functioning," Neira said. "In this day of mandated testing under the federal No Child Left Behind act, physical education should be viewed as a key to giving students the edge to succeed."

Also testifying at the Assembly hearing were: Joanne Hamilton from the Sayville Teachers Association, Steven Esposito from the Sachem Central Teachers Association, Leo Casey from the United Federation of Teachers and Linda Barley, a York College professor and member of the Professional Staff Congress.

"Healthy children learn better, and physical activity helps in knowledge retention," said Hamilton, a 36-year teaching veteran who serves on NYSUT's Subject Area Committee for Health, Physical Education and Family and Consumer Sciences. "Movement activates the brain ... participation has been correlated with increased attention span, improved focus, improved breathing and an increase in one's energy level and relaxation."

Hamilton noted not all children learn in the same way, and physical education gives students the chance to learn through three channels: auditory, visual and — most importantly — hands-on, kinesthetic tactile.

In her district, physical education offers an interdisciplinary approach, with instruction linked to language arts, math, science, social studies, foreign language and health. For example, last month students learned about the Chinese New Year and staged "dragon races."

Esposito talked of the importance of certified physical education teachers providing direct instruction.

Barley said the biggest problem is at the elementary level, where recess is improperly counted as physical education time, and classes are often doubled up to save personnel costs. "Some teachers do not know that their district is out of compliance," Barley said. She suggested better education of future teachers on the state requirements, plus stronger monitoring by the State Education Department.

The speakers' comments echoed the results of a recent NYSUT-sponsored survey to determine if school districts were complying with current state requirements. The survey found:

• Only about 10 percent of respondents indicated students in grades K-3 in their district receive physical education on a daily basis, as required by state regulations.

• Less than 30 percent of teachers said students in grades 4-6 receive at least 120 minutes weekly of physical education.

• Nearly 25 percent of the respondents indicated that in their districts, recess time is sometimes used as physical education time for grades K-6. (Recess time is not instruction time in the state's learning standards and may not be used as a substitute for physical education.)

• Only one-third of the teachers believe their district has adequate facilities for teaching physical education.

• About 30 percent said students in grades 7-12 were not receiving physical education at the state-recommended level — three times a week one semester, two times weekly in the next semester.

The unionists recommended the state: include information about physical education on school report cards so parents know if their district is complying with state regulations; strengthen monitoring by State Ed to ensure local school district compliance; create a K-12 core curriculum for physical education; and inform teachers of the state requirements and make the requirements an essential part of training for new phys ed teachers.

Neira noted the importance of physical activity cannot be understated, given recent studies on the rising number of overweight children in our nation. Spitzer said one out of four children in New York is obese.