New Dist. 220 policy reinforces p.e. law

Barrington Area Unit District 220 officials hope a new written policy on student exemptions from physical education will make clear that the district has been correctly applying state law all along.

Since 2006, the Illinois State Board of Education has prohibited using participation in a sport or other physical activity outside the school day as a reason to waive a P.E. requirement unless that other sport is run by the school itself.

But some parents of Barrington High School students began citing the more liberal policies of other area school districts - like Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire - to request their children also be released from P.E. requirements due to participation in sports outside the school.

Such a policy once allowed former professional tennis player Andrea Jaeger to be released from P.E. while she was a student at Stevenson and training for her career, District 220 Superintendent Tom Leonard said.

"We have never done that in this district," Leonard said Tuesday. "We were in the majority of school districts which never did that."

But in order to make it clear to parents that District 220 is only following state law, the decision was recently made to pursue a new written policy.

That policy was discussed by District 220 board members Tuesday night and is scheduled for a vote at their next meeting Oct. 20.

The policy spells out that during their junior and senior years, Barrington High School students involved in a school sport can waive their physical education requirement.

The sport may or may not be one sanctioned by the Illinois High School Association but cannot be run by any other public or private agency than the school itself, Leonard said.

The new policy also identifies the school nurse as the proper receiver of any medical excuse to be exempt from P.E. or any other required physical activity.

Without a waiver, Barrington High School students must complete seven semesters of P.E. and one semester of health to graduate.