Physical Activity
About SHPPS: SHPPS is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and practices at
the state, district, school, and classroom levels. SHPPS was conducted in 1994, 2000, and 2006. The 2012 study
collected data at the state and district levels only. School- and classroom-level data collection will take place in 2014.
Health Education
Percentage of States Providing Assistance to Districts or Schools on Physical Activity and Fitness
Education
Type of Assistance
Developed, revised, or assisted in developing model policies, policy guidance, or other materials *
Distributed or provided model policies, policy guidance, or other materials*
Provided technical assistance
*
States
70.6
74.5
86.3
During the 2 years before the study.
During the 12 months before the study.
During the 2 years before the study:
76.0% of states provided funding for professional development or offered professional development
to those who teach health education on physical activity and fitness.
The percentage of districts that provided funding for professional development or offered
professional development to those who teach health education on physical activity and fitness
increased from 43.3% in 2000 to 74.6% in 2012.1
Health Services and Mental Health and Social Services
33.1% of districts required schools to provide physical activity and fitness counseling to students.
6.5% of districts had arrangements with organizations or healthcare professionals to provide
physical activity and fitness counseling at other sites not on school property.
85.5% of districts required schools to obtain and keep physical activity restrictions in at least one
type of student record.
Physical Activity
58.9% of districts required and 34.2% recommended that elementary schools provide students
with regularly scheduled recess for students.
Among the 93.1% of districts that required or recommended that elementary schools provide
students with regularly scheduled recess:
o 1.1% required or recommended less than 10 minutes per day.
o 24.3% required or recommended 10 to 19 minutes per day.
o 32.8% required or recommended 20 to 29 minutes per day.
o 30.2% required or recommended 30 or more minutes per day.
o 11.5% did not have specified time requirements or recommendations.
Regression analyses were performed that took all available years of data into account. To account for multiple
comparisons, selected changes are included only if the p-value from the trend analysis was less than .01, and
either the difference between the two endpoints (2000 and 2012) was greater than 10 percentage points or the
2012 estimate increased by at least a factor of two or decreased by at least half as compared to the 2000 estimate.
Physical Activity (continued)
Percentage of Districts That Required Schools to
Provide Students with Regular Physical Activity
Breaks* at Each School Level
Percentage of Districts That Prohibited or Actively
Discouraged Schools From Using Physical Activity
as Discipline
Discipline
Excluding students from all or part of
physical education to punish students for
bad behavior or failure to complete class
work in another class
Excluding students from all or part of
physical education to punish students for
bad behavior in physical education
Excluding students from all or part of recess
for bad behavior or failure to complete class
work
Using physical activity to punish students for
bad behavior in physical education
Using physical activity to punish students for
poor performance or bad behavior in
interscholastic sports
Districts
71.0
63.9
44.2
68.4
63.5
*
Outside of physical education class and recess.
Percentage of States Providing Assistance to Districts or Schools on Physical Activity Topics
Developed,
revised, or
assisted in
developing model
policies, policy
guidance, or
other materials*
36.7
44.9
Distributed or
provided model
policies, policy
guidance, or
other materials*
40.0
56.0
Provided
technical
assistance
32.0
58.0
Physical activity outside of physical education and recess
60.8
74.0
79.2
Recess
49.0
58.8
70.0
Walking or biking to or from school
56.9
66.7
68.0
Topic
Joint use agreements for physical activity facilities
Measuring or monitoring student weight status
During the 2 years before the study.
During the 12 months before the study.
Percentage of States and Districts That Provided Funding for Professional Development or Offered
Professional Development to Those Who Teach Physical Education on Physical Activity Topics During
the 2 Years Before The Study
Topic
State
District
Developing, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive school physical
activity program
49.0
42.2
Encouraging family involvement in physical activity
64.7
53.9
Establishing walking or biking to school programs
60.8
29.1
Helping classroom teachers integrate physical activity into their classrooms
73.5
39.4
Helping students develop individualized physical activity plans
54.9
52.9
25.5
32.6
66.7
55.1
Methods for developing, implementing, and evaluating physical activity clubs or
intramural sports programs
Methods to increase the amount of class time students are engaged in moderateto-vigorous physical activity
Where can I get more information? Visit www.cdc.gov/shpps or call 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).
