Expand PE Waivers for Glenbard District 87 Students

Students in Glenbard High School District 87 are required to take four years of Physical Education in order to graduate. Students who encounter scheduling conflicts that prohibit taking PE class during the day are required to take summer school classes or "Zero-hour" PE in order to graduate on time. While District 87 has a process to allow PE waivers, those waivers are limited, and most commonly apply to senior varsity athletes.

The current limited PE waiver policy puts many of our students, particularly our highest achieving and most involved students, at a competitive disadvantage for college admissions and scholarships compared to other school districts which allow more students to obtain PE waivers, as well as the Chicago Public Schools which only requires two years of PE.

The need for Zero-hour PE places a significant burden on students who already have no study hall because they are taking other classes. Zero-hour PE increases the length of the school day, makes it difficult to schedule make-up tests which jeopardizes a student’s grade, and impairs the ability to seek academic resource support. Summer school presents its own penalties, including out-of-pocket tuition costs, loss of opportunity to attend summer enrichment programs like band camp, scheduling conflicts with summer employment, and accelerated academic pace in order to cover a semester’s worth of material in 16 days.

With the academic competition for college admissions and scholarships increasing, and the District's academic expectations also increasing, particularly with a push to have all students take at least one Advanced Placement course, it is critical that the District expand its PE waiver policy to apply to as many students as possible.