Physical education programs have long been a key access point for children and adolescents to learn to adopt a physically active and healthy lifestyle in the school environment. In addition, other opportunities exist for PA and the learning of motor skills across grade levels. This recognition was brought to the forefront in 2010 with the unveiling of the NPAP (Pate, 2009; Siedentop, 2009). Because physical education professionals may not be intimately familiar with the NPAP’s scope and core purpose, this article introduces the NPAP and focuses specifically on one of its key Societal Sectors: Education.

The NPAP was conceived as an action plan in response to the development of the first-ever federal government–sponsored U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (USDHHS) 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (Pate, 2009). The original NPAP included eight Societal Sectors: Business and Industry; Education; Healthcare; Mass Media; Parks, Recreation, Sports, and Fitness; Public Health; Transportation, Land Use, and Community Design; and Volunteer and Nonprofit (Pate, 2009). It now has evolved into 10 sectors consisting of Business and Industry; Community, Recreation, Fitness, and Parks; Education; Faith-Based Settings; Healthcare; Mass Media; Public Health; Sport; Transportation, Land Use, and Community Design; and, most recently, Military Settings (PAA, 2023a; see Table 1). The NPAP represents a cross-sectional initiative aimed at increasing access to and opportunity for PA (PAA, 2023a). The full National Physical Activity Plan can be found in PAA, (2023b).

The strategies, objectives and tactics for each sector were developed and written by committees comprising expert representatives with backgrounds from various organizations and institutions. To ensure the timeliness and appropriateness of the strategic recommendations, the NPAP is revised every 10 years, with a mid-course update every five years.

In 2021, the NPAP Alliance formally merged with the National Physical Activity Society and the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity to form the PAA. The merger of these three organizations into one alliance provides a more powerful and proactive mission to “… lead efforts to create, support, and advocate policy and system changes that enable all Americans to enjoy physically active lives” (PAA, 2020). Readers are encouraged to review the full NPAP that includes the strategies, tactics and objectives of all other sectors (https://paamovewithus.org; PAA, 2023b)

Given its important benefits to overall health, promoting PA in the various educational institutions has received much greater attention. This resulted in the development of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, second edition (USDHHS, 2018), and the creation of the 2022 United States Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth (PAA, 2022) to show the need to promote PA in educational settings. With 49.4 million students attending public schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022c) and 8.1 million students enrolled in private and charter schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022a, 2022b), school settings can play a major role in combatting physical inactivity. In the latest report card, schools received a grade of D− for supporting and providing PA for school-age youths (PAA, 2022). This indicates that schools are falling short in helping children and adolescents reach the recommended 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (USDHHS, 2018).

In May 2023, the PAA updated the 2016 version of the NPAP (PAA, 2023a). The updated Education Sector strategies, tactics and objectives emphasize (1) providing inclusionary educational experiences and programming for all students, (2) expanding the original K–12 educational setting to include the university and college levels, and (3) encouraging expanded policies and standards for childcare and early childhood education programs. They reflect mid-course adjustments from the 2016 NPAP and include objectives to be met by 2025 (PAA, 2023a). Therefore, school-based personnel (i.e., physical education professionals, classroom teachers, school administrators), as well as community-based PA professionals who work with school-age youths, are integral in this national initiative to help reverse the steady decline in recommended PA levels among children and adolescents (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021b; Guthold et al., 2020). For example, between 2011 and 2019, decreases were reported in the percentage of adolescents who (a) were active for at least 60 minutes on at least one of seven days, (b) were active for at least 60 minutes on five or more days, or (c) were active for at least 60 minutes on all seven days and (d) attended physical education classes on all five weekdays. Conversely, sedentary behavior in the form of playing video or computer games for three hours or more per day increased (CDC, 2020).

The Education Sector strategies also align with several national initiatives to assist schools in implementing programs to further encourage PA in children and youths. These include the Active People, Healthy Nation (CDC, 2022a), the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition (USDHHS, 2018), the Move Your Way campaign (USDHHS, 2021), the National Youth Sports Strategy (USDHHS, 2019) and Project Play: State of Play 2022 (Aspen Institute, 2022). The collective action and impact of these initiatives may increase opportunities for children and youths to reduce their sedentary behaviors while increasing their PA levels.

Each NPAP sector developed general strategies to increase the PA levels of all students attending U.S. schools. The updated, comprehensive strategies for the Education Sector are presented in Table 2. The first two strategies and their accompanying tactics reflect a clear focus on increasing PA opportunities among students (see Strategy 1), with physical education programs continuing to be a core component (see Strategy 2).

As shown in Table 2, the strategies reflect a focus on a range of age groups, including preschool/early childhood, K–12, and postsecondary students (Strategies 3–5). They also include a strategy focused on (1) professional preparation programs for those preparing to be PA professionals and (2) providing continuous professional development for those working with the varying age groups (Strategy 6). And finally, professional and scientific organizations are targeted to engage in sustained and proactive advocacy to establish strong physical education and PA-related policies (Strategy 7).

Each NPAP sector was also charged to develop specific tactics and objectives to help lead its efforts to support the general strategies. This article presents the tactics and objectives only for Education Sector Strategies 1 and 2, because they are specific to school physical education and expanded PA programming (see Tables 3 and 4). These can be found in the full NPAP at in PAA (2023b). The objectives are accompanied by data sources that could be used to track progress toward reaching these objectives. As is the case with most national initiatives, most of the data sources involve national-level surveillance; those marked with an asterisk reflect a current lack of available and credible data sources.

Strategies 1 and 2 together reflect the prominence of physical education within the Education Sector. Physical education is the cornerstone of CSPAPs (Dauenhauer & Stoepker, 2022). As shown in Table 3, Strategy 1 calls for states and school districts to adopt strong policies that support the implementation of CSPAPs. Strategy 1 tactics and objectives reflect an explicit call for widespread implementation, dissemination and professional development support for K–12 physical educators to develop CSPAPs, thus ensuring that all students are offered maximum PA access and opportunities throughout the school day (Objectives 1.1, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.17). Objectives specific to CSPAP implementation are modest, because they emphasize schools implementing at least some of the CSPAP components including before-, during- and after-school PA programming. Moreover, PAA recommends that national and state associations increase efforts to support and promote CSPAP implementation and professional development for physical educators (see Objectives 1.9 and 1.10). The recent attention given to ensuring that daily recess is required across all schools serves as a good springboard to move forward on that Education Sector objective (see Objective 1.12).

Slater et al. (2012) and An et al. (2021) reported that schools were significantly more likely to provide the required number of minutes of physical education and 20 minutes of recess if state-level policies were enacted requiring 150 minutes of physical education and 20 minutes of recess in elementary schools. They also noted that elementary schools were more likely to substitute recess for physical education and vice versa, as opposed to delivering both for specified amounts of time. Conversely, school district–level policies did not improve the likelihood of schools providing more recess. Thus, these objectives suggest that state-level policies would optimize access to and opportunities for physical education and expanded PA.

In the early 2000s, there was a steady decline in physical education attendance and participation in high schools (Grades 9–12). Between 2019 and 2021, the percentage of students who attended physical education classes on all five days decreased to just under 26% (Michael et al., 2023). Moreover, there is evidence that CSPAP has been implemented in few high schools (CDC, 2022b). Therefore, the Strategy 1 objectives recommend that secondary students have PA opportunities and access to facilities and equipment during before- and after-school hours (see Objectives 1.14 and 1.15). Finally, Objective 1.18 recommends that schools and school districts find ways to collaborate with public community organizations — and establish reciprocal shared-use agreements to maximize schools’ PA facility use and program offerings — by recruiting community-based PA professionals with content expertise (e.g., yoga, golf or tennis instructors).

Strategy 2 (along with its corresponding tactics and objectives) focuses specifically on K–12 physical education programming: Schools should provide high-quality physical education programs (see Table 4). Over the past four decades, physical education programming has become increasingly limited in terms of time allocation and graduation requirements (CDC, 2022b; SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators & the American Heart Association [AHA], 2016). Moreover, the absence of strong (i.e., enforced) state-level policies that require physical education (and expanded PA opportunities) contributes to less access to learn motor and movement skills and less active time. Additionally, most states do not have policies that limit class size specific to physical education (SHAPE America & AHA, 2016; see Objective 2.8), which are common for other school subjects. The practice of using PA as punishment during physical education or withholding participation in physical education as punishment for inappropriate conduct or failure to complete classroom assignments also remains an unfortunate part of the U.S. physical education landscape (SHAPE America & AHA, 2016; see Objectives 2.9 and 2.10). SHAPE America and AHA (2016) have further noted that physical education delivery is compromised as well by (1) allowing students to fulfill high school physical education requirements through participation in other subjects (e.g., marching band, Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, interscholastic athletics) and (2) providing waivers, substitutions and exemptions because of religious beliefs, disability or other reasons (see Objectives 2.11 and 2.12). These practices further limit high school students’ access and opportunity to participate in quality physical education. Strategy 2’s tactics and objectives reflect efforts to counter these trends and to increase students’ PA levels.

The roadblocks to deliver quality physical education become even clearer when one considers the evidence in support of strong state-level physical education policies. Students in states with strong physical education–supportive laws had higher class attendance as well as higher frequency and duration of PA during both physical education classes and throughout the school day (An et al., 2021; Slater et al., 2012).

Objectives 2.13 and 2.14 seek to ensure that physical educators (1) employ quality instructional practices and assessments to track student progress toward meeting national or state content standards, (2) align their instructional practices with their state’s or school district’s curriculum, and (3) conduct regular program evaluations. Together these objectives can help improve the quality of instruction and student learning experiences.

Formal assessment of physical education learning outcomes, aligned with national/state content standards, is perhaps one of the most neglected teaching functions in physical education (Association Internationale des Écoles Supérieures d’Éducation Physique, 2020; van der Mars et al., 2018). There is evidence, however, that sustained professional development can improve formal assessment practices of secondary school physical educators that target substantive learning outcomes (van der Mars et al., 2018). The tactics and Objectives 2.16 and 2.17 suggest the need (1) for physical educators to implement quality assessments and (2) to support educators through quality professional development. Finally, improving access to and opportunities for meaningful physical education and PA experiences for students with disabilities, by tracking state-level legislative requirements, is showcased in Objectives 2.18 and 2.19. These objectives also emphasize the importance of quality professional development for all physical educators.

The scope of the NPAP provides strategies to address the complexity of the public health problems associated with school-age youths in the United States who engage in too little PA. Students’ mental health remains a significant problem, and PA is a powerful antidote to stress, depression and anxiety (Mikkelsen et al., 2017). The decline in the delivery of school physical education may contribute to chronic conditions such as overweight/obesity and diabetes.

The NPAP provides possible solutions through strategic planning and policy development and implementation. Therefore, it is important that physical education professionals (1) recognize the implications of the NPAP, (2) become aware of how other sectors contribute, and (3) seek ways to engage with and/or support other sectors (as other sectors would be expected to support school physical education). The most essential implications are identified below.

The development of the NPAP signifies an important step forward. The NPAP is a blueprint to break down the silos of the 10 Societal Sectors in an effort to increase the PA levels of all citizens, especially school-age youths in the Education Sector. This effort has four key implications for school physical education programs:

Implication 1: The Central Role of School Physical Education Programs. Physical educators may perceive their subject as not highly valued (Laureano et al., 2014). There is evidence that during the past five decades, access to physical education has become more restricted in U.S. schools (Kern et al., 2021; van der Mars, 2018; van der Mars et al., 2021). However, the subject remains a prime evidence-based opportunity for promoting PA among school-age youths and is the cornerstone of CSPAP (CDC, 2013; Pate et al., 2006; Task Force on Community Preventive Services, 2001). As shown in Tables 3 and 4, the Education Sector objectives reflect a whole-of-school approach aimed at moving schools toward being a fully inclusive and accessible hub for PA for all students throughout the school day. Moreover, it aligns with the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model (CDC, 2021) and the CSPAP model (CDC, 2013). Thus, physical education programs are a core mechanism for helping children and youths reach their daily recommended PA levels.

Strategy 1 in the Education Sector’s objective focuses on the development of CSPAPs. Physical educators are uniquely positioned to encourage school administrators to support and invest in expanded PA programming through developing sustained CSPAPs.

Similarly, sport instruction with a strong emphasis on decontextualized and rote skill drills before informal gameplay is unlikely to attract most students to PA in the long run (Launder & Piltz, 2013; Siedentop et al., 2020). There is an emerging body of “best available knowledge” indicating that it is possible to learn manipulative motor skills and more advanced sport techniques and tactics in game-based approaches, while simultaneously producing acceptable moderate-to-vigorous physical activity levels (Dudley et al., 2011; Harvey, 2006; Harvey et al., 2016; McKenzie et al., 1998; Miller et al., 2016; Sierra-Ríos et al., 2020). Such evidence supports both the skill learning and PA promotion advocates and those wanting to change the counterproductive “either–or” line of thinking.

The main purpose of this article is to build awareness about the importance of getting children and youths to engage in more health-enhancing PA, as recommended through the strategies, tactics and objectives specific to K–12 physical education programs. Promoting PA among K–12 students is a task that seeks active participation by all physical educators, physical education teacher education faculty, and our national and state associations. It is also important for physical education providers to recognize that they are not alone in achieving this goal. The other Societal Sectors are crucial partners in this endeavor.

The two Education Sector strategies highlighted here (Tables 3 and 4) include 37 specific objectives. Of those, 20 currently do not have available or credible tracking mechanisms in place to determine progress (i.e., lack of appropriate data sources). This reflects a gap in the infrastructure to support sustained, school-based PA/PE surveillance activities that include assessment of policy, district, school and student-level outcomes. Much like the Healthy People 2030 initiative (Office of Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, n.d.) in which national health objectives are tracked, assessed and updated every 10 years, the PAA will regularly update its NPAP.

The school environment that has been created includes various factors that suppress PA, such as lack of access to PA on school campuses throughout the school day (Kärmeniemi et al., 2018; Yu et al., 2022). The inclusion of a standards-based physical education curriculum in this national effort would support PA in the schools, including recess, classroom physical activity breaks, and before- and after-school programs. School physical education is an essential contributor to this national initiative and NPAP. Daniel Lieberman, an evolutionary biologist, aptly argued that though humans did not evolve to be physically active from an evolutionary perspective, it is both healthy and can be remarkably rewarding (Lieberman, 2020). The latter is very much determined by how physical educators can help all children and youths develop motor skillfulness and a passion for physically active living.