State Laws Supporting Adapted Physical Education Access and Quality for Students With Disabilities

BACKGROUND: Children with disabilities are advised to meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and be as active as possible. A key opportunity for physical activity (PA) is physical education (PE). METHODS: State laws (50 states and DC) as of December 31, 2023, were compiled from commercial legal databases and double-coded as part of the National Cancer Institute's CLASS database. Laws were coded for any adapted physical education (APE) provision, APE teacher certification and qualification, and PE exemptions. RESULTS: While 49 states addressed the availability of APE, 16 states' laws did not indicate who is eligible. A total of 13 states' laws addressed APE curriculum standards, and 30 addressed APE teacher certification. In total, 15 states addressed who teaches APE at the elementary level and 14 at the middle/high school levels. PE exemptions for disability varied by grade. IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL HEALTH POLICY AND PRACTICE: State laws represent an opportunity to better address APE, including who is qualified to teach APE and what standards could be used to guide such instruction when it falls to general PE educators. CONCLUSIONS: Greater attention to how state laws address the inclusion of students with disabilities is necessary, as PA is a key component of a healthy lifestyle for all children.