Florida Legislature Seeks to Eliminate Physical Education from Middle Schools

COMMENTARY | Florida's Republican-led legislature has cut funding to arts and music programs, and now they are taking aim on our children's health. Is it not bad enough that the food served in Florida's school lunchrooms is full of processed preservatives and fat? Now legislators seek to take away the only chance that some children have to move during the school day.

Florida Legislature Seeks to Make Mandatory Physical Education Illegal

As reported by ABC News, Republican state Rep. Larry Metz proposed a law to eliminate requirements for one semester of physical education for middle schoolers. His logic is that "some physically fit and active middle school students might rather use that time in their school day to take another elective." He wants to put the decision into the hands of school administrators, who, faced with budget shortfalls from already tight education budgets, may see this as the only way to retain teachers.

With childhood obesity and obesity related diseases rising, first lady Michelle Obama has made this one of her major causes. The "Let's Move" government website has information on healthy eating and exercise for children, and she has made appearances all over the country supporting this cause.

Florida Governor Proposes Education and Medicaid Cuts While Cutting Taxes on the Rich

Florida's Republican governor, Rick Scott, has proposed cutting education funding by 5 percent in the 2011-2012 budget. Most cuts would be made to arts, music and physical education programs. He also wants to cut Medicaid, supposedly to give more money to education. One could ask why he is cutting education if he is so concerned about funding it. Why do he and the Republican run Florida legislature continually take away from the most vulnerable members of the citizenry while playing up to the rich? According to the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy: "Since 1999, the Florida Legislature has...lowered taxes on corporations and wealthy Floridians, including the elimination of the so-called "wealth taxes" used in Florida for decades to help make the state's tax structure somewhat less regressive." A regressive tax is one that takes a larger percentage from lower incomes than from higher incomes.

Rick Scott is the Nation's Most Unpopular Governor

With his approval rating now at 26 percent, one might surmise that most of the parents in Florida are not in favor of these cuts. One can only hope that Scott and his cronies are voted out of office in 2012, because it will take years to repair the damage they have done to those who are already hurting. Florida's unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country at 10.3 percent, down from 12 percent. With more foreclosures than any other state in the nation, taking away from the most vulnerable and helpless citizens, who have already been ruined by this economic downturn, is simply heartless.

References:

Unbalancing Florida's Tax System: Eliminating Taxes on Wealth has Shifted the Burden to Other Floridians

Florida Lawmaker Proposes Bill to Eliminate Middle School Physical Education

Let's Move! Government Website

2012 Budget Would Cut Medicaid, Boost School Funding

Governor Rick Scott's Approval Ratings are Lowest in America