By Kelley Ashford & Faris Tanyos
 
October 1, 2008
 
TALENT, Ore. -- A state law passed during the 2007 legislative session will require Oregon schools to raise physical education requirements for elementary and middle school students.
 
The law comes in response to growing obesity and health problems facing young people today.
 
House Bill 3141 requires school districts to provide kindergarten through fifth grade students with a least 150 minutes of physical activity per week. Districts have until the year 2017 to make the change.
 
"With the budget the way that it is, and the economy the way it is, we're concerned about what's going to happen next year and the following year probably more than what's happening nine or 10 years down the road," says Talent Elementary School Principal Aaron Santi.
 
Some Rogue Valley elementary schools are taking the requirements into consideration now because of space restrictions. Both Mae Richardson Elementary and Jewett Elementary in Central Point have gyms that are used as cafeterias during lunch time.
 
"For 535 kids to fit in cafeteria time and have time to slot out gym use for PE became a real problem," says Jewett Elementary School Principal Scott Dippel.
 
Jewett is trying out a new called Intramural Time which takes kids outside every day to participate in one of five organized activities.
 
"This program is giving us 35 to 40 minutes of PE every day and it's incorporated during their lunch time, either before or after lunch," says Dippel.
 
That's enough to exceed the coming requirements.