SALT LAKE CITY — Got thoughts on the State School Board's recent decision to drop middle school physical education, health and arts as core requirements?
Speak your piece at a public hearing from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday at the board offices, 250 E. 500 South.
In August, the Utah State Board of Education voted 9-6 to drop the state requirement that students in grades seven and eight take health, physical education, arts, digital literacy and college-and-career readiness courses but requires schools to offer the courses as electives.
Proponents of the rule change said dropping the requirements gives local school boards and charter schools flexibility to establish their own priorities in these areas.
Critics say at a time of unprecedented levels of childhood obesity and high rates of youth suicides, it is important to maintain state-level priorities for health and physical education, as well as ensuring students have exposure to the arts.
School districts and charter school boards can establish their own requirements in addition to the remaining state middle school core requirements, which are language arts, mathematics, integrated science, U.S. history and Utah history.
The new policy says school districts or charter schools "shall offer" the following courses aligned with core standards in seventh and eighth grades: at least two of five arts courses, including visual arts, music, dance, theater or media arts; physical education; health education; college and career awareness; and as of the 2018-19 school year, digital literacy, and at least one of the world languages.