TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Sixth-graders could be required to take dance and gymnastics and high school students may have the option of enrolling in a gun safety class or going water skiing to fulfill a physical education requirement.

Those are some of the proposed changes to Florida's physical education standards that the public is being asked to comment on.

If adopted by the State Board of Education at its October meeting, the requirements would take effect in the 2009-10 school year, Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported.

"We want PE to be more than throwing a ball," said Todd Clark, who is helping lead the process for the Board of Education. "The state has been looking carefully at trying to be smart about having students be active and lifelong athletes."

Last year, Gov. Charlie Crist, an advocate for physical fitness, helped ensure the passage of a law that required elementary students to have 150 minutes of physical activity each week. That was more than four times the amount the average Brevard County elementary student received the previous year.

This year, that law was tightened to require 30 minutes of continuous physical exercise every day for elementary students, and the next push has focused on older students.

It's all part of an effort to tackle childhood obesity and promote a healthy, active lifestyle.

"If you are going to attract students to take PE at the high school level, you need to try and offer a menu where the districts can provide those courses as an elective course," Clark said.

About 30 educators from around the state were selected to begin research in November 2007. They took ideas from states known for having exemplary physical education programs and passed them on to another group of educators -- from elementary teachers to college professors -- who wrote the recommendations.

Clark recognizes that some districts may have problems getting equipment such as canoes, golf clubs or mats, and finding proper locations to carry out the proposed activities, which include archery and horseshoes. For example, only 10 of Brevard's 85 schools have swimming pools.

Denise Dabrowski-Buchanan, who has been a PE teacher in Brevard for 19 years and currently teaches at Melbourne High, called the recommendations great ideas but not feasible.

"Joe Schmo PE teacher is not certified to teach all that stuff," Dabrowski-Buchanan said. "And the cost of equipment and expertise, with all the cutbacks, I just can't even imagine. How logical is it with all the budget cuts?"

Valerie Harville, the district coordinator for Brevard Public Schools, was part of the research committee. She said educators tried to be creative in coming up with ways to attract students.

"We wanted to make sure that we were giving students as many opportunities as possible to be active," Harville said. "We dug pretty deep."

Lill Toler, whose daughter is going into fifth grade at Imperial Elementary in Titusville, thinks the committee dug too deep. She's concerned that physical education teachers are not qualified to teach some of the recommendations like gymnastics, Pilates or swing dance. She's also worried about how classes such as dance would affect students' self-image.

"You'll have the girls who will be out there versus the boys who might feel goofy and self- conscious," Toler said. "I like the regular sports where you run and learn techniques."

Parent Lisa Smoak has a different take on the new activities. She said students, including her son who will start fifth grade at Longleaf Elementary in Melbourne, may be uncomfortable at first but "unless you show them and expose them to it, they won't know about it."

She said her son's PE teacher devoted time to teaching disco dancing and it was a huge success. She's also confident the teachers will be smart when teaching the lessons.

"In gymnastics, I don't think they will have them on the uneven bars, and I'm sure they won't have them doing back handsprings and that sort of thing," Smoak said. "It will just be to get them moving."

This is the kind of debate and feedback the Department of Education wants. Clark said the draft compiled by the educators is just that, a draft. Once the feedback deadline has passed, all comments will be reviewed and the committee will decide what items need to be clarified, expanded or deleted.

"I hope the parents and teachers are going online to provide feedback," Clark said. "Are they (the recommendations) too restrictive? Should they add more items? We could really use input from parents."

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