Dr. Gavin Washington heads to Capitol Hill to advocate for health & physical education

Dr. Gavin Washington heads to Capitol Hill to advocate for health & physical education

Posted on April 20, 2017

FRANKFORT — In response to serious threats of cuts to the federal funding of the bi-partisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Dr. Gavin Washington, of Kentucky State University’s Health and Physical Education Department, is headed to Capitol Hill to advocate for full funding to support health and physical education programs in schools. Dr. Washington will ask lawmakers to fully fund the federal education program Title IV, Part A, Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, under ESSA.

Dr. Washington will join more than 200 fellow health and physical educators representing nearly 50 states on Capitol Hill to take part in the SHAPE America – Society of Health and Physical Educators 10th annual member lobby day, SPEAK Out! Day, on April 25-26.

During these Capitol Hill meetings, teachers and advocates will offer insight and perspective on the negative impact of marginalizing health and physical education in schools. They will also share success stories and the links that exist between health, physical education, and academic achievement.

Effective health and physical education are the cornerstones to empowering students to lead active, healthy lives, which is SHAPE America’s national commitment called 50 Million Strong by 2029.

For more event details, visit SPEAK Out! Day. Find updates during the two-day event by following @SHAPE_America and #MoreTitleIV on Twitter. Follow KSU @KyStateU on Twitter.