San Dieguito Pool Feasibility Committee    

Our state legislature has recognized that "the diversity of water recreation activities available statewide, and the significant loss of life associated with those activities," demonstrate "a great need for an aquatic safety program" in our schools and community. As a result, the legislature requires in the California Education Code that "fundamental water safety training be provided for all the children of the state so that California’s youth will be able to enjoy water recreation while avoiding its hazards." Ed Code § 51879.7. 

 

California Department of Education, the CA Education Code and Regulations
The CA Department of Education sets forth the laws and regulations that govern instruction in our schools, including P.E. Per the State's Ed Code, students must take 2 years of P.E. in order to earn a high school diploma. Ed Code § 51225.3. The Ed Code defines 8 areas that should be taught in high school P.E. Aquatics is one of those areas (see, e.g. Ed Code § 33352(b)(7) and 5 CCR § 10060(a). The CA Department of Education emphasizes on its website that "[h]igh school physical education course content must include instruction in each of the eight content areas." Emphasis added.

5 CCR § 10060(f) also requires that class sizes be in proportion to provide quality and safe instruction. 

 

Per EC Section 33352(b)(7): The CDE shall ensure that data is collected that demonstrates the extent a school provides: “a course of study in physical education to pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, that includes a developmentally appropriate sequence of instruction, including the effects of physical activity upon dynamic health, the mechanics of body movement, aquatics, gymnastics and tumbling, individual and dual sports, rhythms and dance, team sports, and combatives. The district must submit a progress report on students showing that students were evaluated in the 8 areas and the progress they made. See, e.g. the Program Monitoring Reports of P.E., submitted by the CA Dept. of Education to the Governor, Legislature, and Legislative Analyst's office (2018 and 2017).

California's Model PE Standards:

In 2005, the CA Department of Education also adopted Model P.E. Standards that set forth the standards to guide P.E. instruction in those eight areas in our public schools, which per the Ed Code includes aquatic instruction (see, e.g., pp. 36 and 50). 

California Physical Education Framework for California Public Education Schools

Per the 2009 Framework for CA public schools, students "must demonstrate proficiency in aquatics ...." (p. 117)

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Despite these above laws and regulations, P.E. frameworks and standards, and the fact that San Dieguito is a coastal school district, it has been unclear whether San Dieguito has been teaching aquatics to all of its students and meeting its obligations under these provisions. Per the CA Department of Education, even if a district does not have a pool, "aquatics can still be taught. Instruction can be provided on water safety rescue techniques, dry-land strokes, kick practice, and buoyancy principles." (See Chapter 4 of the Physical Education Framework for California Public Schools.) Per family accounts, students do not get aquatic instruction unless they sign up for the team sports for diving, swimming and water polo. And given this quality of this district's resources, even if aquatic instruction is being taught throughout the district's courses, families remain hopeful that this district can do better than having its students do dry-land strokes and kick practice and other activities on a black top.

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Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), American with Disabilities Act and Section 504

Families of students with special needs have also expressed concerns about whether students in adapted P.E. and in the non-diploma educational tracks are receiving instruction in the 8 areas, and whether these students have access to actual pool instruction like students on teams under Title II of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

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Under the ADA, no student with a disability can "be excluded from participation in or be denied benefits of the services, programs or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity." 42 USC § 12132. Families have asked if aquatic instruction is being provided to general education students in their P.E. classes, because if so, then they want reassurances students who are not in general education P.E. classes are also getting the benefit of instruction on this same subjection and access to pools.

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Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, students cannot "be excluded from the participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal Financial Assistance." 29 U.S.C. § 794. Our district received federal funding and is required to comply with the protections afforded students with disabilities under Section 504. 

 

Under the IDEA, special education specifically includes specially designed instruction, including P.E., at no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability including instruction in physical education. 20 USC 1401(29). Per the Federal Code of Regulations implementing the IDEA 34 CFR § 300.39(b)(2), “Physical Education” is defined as: 

 

“(2)Physical education means - 

(i) The development of - 

(A) Physical and motor fitness;

(B) Fundamental motor skills and patterns; and

(C) Skills in aquatics, dance, and individual and group games and sports (including intramural and lifetime sports); and

(ii) Includes special physical education, adapted physical education, movement education, and motor development.”

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At this time, the district provides P.E. credit to general education students who elect to participate on water polo, swim and dive teams. Special education students in non-diploma tracks generally do not have access to aquatics at the schools. (Note: Parents of some of the students at the Torrey Pines High School have shared that students in the TAP and FLS classes (non-diploma track special education classes) receive instruction for approximately a week. La Costa Canyon students in the TAP and FLS classes do not receive aquatic instruction or go to pools.

 

Funding

Parents are generally asked for donations to cover the costs of the novice coaches, and until changes were made in 2017, families had also been asked to donate funds to pay for the rental of pool facilities for dive, swim and water polo teams even though students earned credits for participation in these "classes." 

In 2017, after numerous families raised concerns about the district's practice of having families pay for the pool fees under the CA Constitution's guarantee to free public education (Article IX, Section 5), the district finally assumed payment of the aquatic teams' rental fees. See AB 1575, CA Ed. Code § 49013, prohibiting fees for course credit or privileges related to educational activities in exchange for money or donations of goods or services from a pupil or pupil's parents or guardians. 5 CCR § 350 also states that a "pupil enrolled in a school shall not be required to pay any fee, deposit, or other charge not specifically authorized by law." (See also FCMAT's searchable database on opinions about certain fees).

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