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By Jon Coupal
Under current California law, public school children in fifth, seventh and ninth grades are given a physical fitness test that measures everything from aerobic capacity to flexibility and upper body strength.
According to the California Department of Education, “the main goal of the test is to help students in starting life-long habits of regular physical activity. The test has six parts that show a level of fitness that offer a degree of defense against diseases that come from inactivity. The test results can be used by students, teachers, and parents.”
Because of dramatic increases in childhood obesity, not just in California but throughout the nation, it makes sense to have some way of measuring the fitness of our kids. Such tests can also motivate young people to improve their overall health.
But starting next year, schools will suspend the fitness exam because, according to Governor Newsom, physical fitness tests are “discriminatory.”
As explained by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Finance, the suspension is based on complaints from parents that the test is discriminatory to students with disabilities and to non-binary students, since it includes a Body Mass Index screening that offers only male or female options. (Fact check: students with disabilities are not required to take the test.)
DOF spokesperson H.D. Palmer also pointed to studies that show BMI screenings could lead to body shaming and bullying: “Given the body of research on the impacts of bullying on transgender and special education students, during this period of suspension, it’s important to take this pause and determine whether the current test can be modified or whether a new assessment should be developed.”
While bullying in school is a real problem that needs to be addressed, it makes no sense to sacrifice the health of the majority of public school children on the chance that some kids may have their feelings hurt.
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