Background California law has standards for physical education (PE) instruction in K-12 public schools; audits found that the Los Angeles Unified School District did not enforce the standards. In 2009, the district adopted a PE policy to comply with these standards. Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the PE policy in district schools. Methods PE class observations were conducted using the System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time in the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years in an income-stratified random sample of 34 elementary, middle, and high schools to assess changes in PE class size, class duration, and time students spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Results PE class duration increased in high-income elementary schools. Mean class size decreased in low-income middle schools. Conclusions There was limited implementation of the PE policy 2 years after passage. Opportunities exist to continue monitoring and improving PE quantity and quality.
where one lives, the color of one's skin, and how much money one has impacts one's health and quality of life. One reason for this is that people of color and low-income people disproportionately lack access to safe places and programs for physical activity, including parks, school fields and green streets. People who lack access are deprived of the benefits of green space, including improved physical and mental health, the full development of the child including improved academic performance, positive alternatives to gangs, crime drugs and violence, social cohesion, economic vitality including green local jobs, and other values (García and Strongin, 2011). Over the past ten years, attorneys, advocates and activists in what has become known as the urban greening movement have worked to alleviate inequities in access to green space including parks, schools and pools, translating social science research, policy and law into systemic social change. In southern California, Los Angeles State Historic Park, Río de Los Angeles State Park, and Baldwin Hills Park are three best practice examples where community driven organizing and legal campaigns have helped create and maintain parks in neighborhoods that are disproportionately of color and low-income and lack opportunities for physical activity. These community victories for greening, democracy and equal justice took place over the span of a decade in three neighborhoods in Los Angeles, California. Each case study demonstrates how research including public health, demographic, geographic, and economic analyses, geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and demographic analyses, social science, and history were employed to present quantitative and qualitative evidence that supported the use of civil rights and environmental laws to influence the investment of public resources to create and maintain great urban parks. Section 2-5 of this chapter present the evidence. Section 6 presents the legal analyses. Section 7 illustrates the application of the law to the evidence in the context of those parks. Section 8 presents lessons learned in translating research into action. These case studies present replicable models for other cities and regions. Social Sciences and Cultural Studies-Issues of Language, Public Opinion, Education and Welfare 156 2. The people and geography of the Los Angeles region The Los Angeles region is densely populated and racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse. While the region offers a wealth of green space and parks as a whole, the green space is spread across a large land area and recreation opportunities are not distributed evenly (García and Strongin, 2011). 2.1 The people of Los Angeles Los Angeles County is home to more than 9.8 million people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010a). The City of Los Angeles alone has approximately 3.8 million residents, making it the second largest city in the United States of America by population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010b). The remaining 60% of the county's population is dispersed throughout the other 87 ...
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