Starting this year, the physical education department can sign a waiver that will allow it to determine what its curriculum can include.

The waiver is a group of papers that needs to be submitted to the State Board of Education of Indiana. There will be a committee meeting on Tuesdays that determines what this waiver will look like.

“The State Board has chosen to allow high schools to apply for a physical education waiver. This can look different in each school,” Kim TenBrink, head of the physical education department, said.

For example, CHS can add ping pong to its curriculum as long as the School Board approves.

However, not everything on the form can be approved by the State Board. “My concern is if we have this waiver, what is it going to look like,” TenBrink said.

This waiver form can affect the students in many ways. “I think that some won’t like it because these people feel that wellness is important and because each student should be involved in a physical education class,” TenBrink said.

Students who don’t prefer this waiver may be less enthusiastic about their class. Some, on the other hand, may actually prefer this waiver. “The school can now decide on what the students are interested in, and can decide accordingly to those interests,” Michael “Mike” Phipps, sophomore who is still yet to take physical education, said.

“It’s a good escape from the regular school day, and it’s the only exercise we get to have during school,” Phipps said.