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Colorado's watered down elementary school exercise law

Colorado's watered down elementary school exercise law

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I-News at Rocky Mountain PBS posted today its package on the Colorado state law and childhood obesity. So far, Rocky Mountain PBS has done a 15-minute program on it and 9News has tapped a segment on the story.

Here is what the story says. It is at www.inewsnetwork.org with a video, photos and interactive charts.

A 2011 state law requiring 30 minutes of physical activity a day for elementary students was supposed to mark a new tool in the fight against childhood obesity – but in reality it did little more than reinforce the status quo, an I-News examination found.

The reason: The measure was so gutted during the legislative process that it has meant virtually no meaningful changes in the way elementary schools are operated. The standard imposed by the law – which allows recess to count as physical activity time – was already being met by districts across the state.

Two years later, the school day looks exactly the same for students across the state as it did before the law was passed.

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The Center for Health Journalism’s two-day symposium on domestic violence will provide reporters with a roadmap for covering this public health epidemic with nuance and sensitivity. The first day will take place on the USC campus on Friday, March 17. The Center has a limited number of $300 travel stipends for California journalists coming from outside Southern California and a limited number of $500 travel stipends for those coming from out of state. Journalists attending the symposium will be eligible to apply for a reporting grant of $2,000 to $10,000 from our Domestic Violence Impact Reporting Fund. Find more info here!

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