Physical Education and Recess State Policy Classification System and Data

Data Set Description

Topics Covered: The Physical Education and Recess State Policy Classification System (PERSPCS) addresses five areas:

1. Physical Education time requirements
2. Staffing requirements for physical education
3. Curriculum standards for physical education
4. Assessment of health-related fitness, and
5. Recess time

With the exception of the recess time component, policies are coded for each of three grade levels-elementary (ES), middle (MS), and high (HS) schools. Recess policies only are coded for the elementary grade level.

State-level coverage: Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Types of policies included: Statutory laws as enacted by the state legislatures and administrative laws promulgated by state administrative agencies.

Current data availability: Coding of policies in effect as of December 31, 2003 through December 31, 2007.

Current update plans: Efforts are currently underway to code and classify the 2008 policies. These data will be posted on this site as they become available.

Files Available for Download

PE and Recess State Policy Classification System Tool (PERSPCS)
PERSPCS Tool (doc)
PERSPCS Tool (pdf)

PERSPCS Baseline 2003-2007 Data and Codebook

"Bridging the Gap: Research Informing Practice and Policy for Healthy Youth Behavior," a supplement to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine

See Also: School Nutrition Environment State Policy Classification System and Data