46 States Mandate P.E., But Only Four Require in All Grades

By Jessica Portner

Although the number of states that mandate at least some physical-education instruction in public schools has increased from 42 in 1987 to 46 this year, P.E. teachers are still under pressure to defend their programs amid shrinking education budgets, a new report says.

Three years after the federal government declared its support for requiring all K-12 students to participate in daily physical education--as one of a set of national goals released by the U.S. Public Health Service--only four states require students in all grades to enroll in P.E. classes, according to the report to be released this week by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.

Entitled "The Shape of the Nation,'' it is based on a survey of physical-education requirements in 50 states and...