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Physical Education Waiver Enacted Starting with 2025-26 School Year
Summer P.E. Cancelled
The Diocese of Columbus, starting with the 2025-26 school year, will start allowing a waiver of the high school physical education graduation requirement for students who participate in school-sponsored interscholastic athletics, marching band and cheerleading for at least two seasons in grades 9-11. The policy, in alignment with the state accommodation that began for the 2019-20 school year, also includes show choir for schools that offer it, an activity Bishop Watterson does not offer.
Given that change, Bishop Watterson’s administration has decided that summer physical education will no longer be held, starting with the summer of 2025.
FAQs
Is there still a physical education requirement to graduate?
Yes. Bishop Watterson’s graduation requirement for physical education is .5 credit. A semester of physical education class results in .25 credit.
The ways a student meets the graduation requirement would be:
1) Student takes two semesters of physical education for .5 credit.
2) Student completes two seasons of the listed activities, in good standing, and receives two physical education waivers.
3) Student completes one season of the listed activities, in good standing, for one waiver and one semester of physical education for .25 credit.
For students who take physical education class, does the grade count in their GPA?
Yes. However, for students who receive a waiver, because there is no class grade, it will not affect GPA.
Does the waiver apply to varsity sports only or do other levels count?
Students who make the team roster at any level and who successfully complete a season can earn a waiver.
Can other activities such as CYO, club sports or private athletic training be considered for the waiver?
No. Section 3313.603 of the Ohio Revised Code defines school-sponsored interscholastic activities as any high school athletic team, high school cheerleading squad, high school marching band or high school show choir of the student’s high school that participates in the regular athletic season as the seasons are established under the rules and bylaws of the Ohio High School Athletic Association and is operated under the supervision of a school employee.
Are students who receive the waiver for participation also required to take physical education classes?
Not if the waiver requirement is completed in grades 9, 10 or 11. If a student has not received two waivers after grade 11, they will be scheduled to take physical education during senior year. Waivers will not be given to seniors during the 2025-26 school year.
What happens if a student tries out for a team and does not make the final roster?
That student will not receive a waiver for participation.
What happens if a student is injured during a season?
A student athlete must complete the full season in good standing for the season to be counted toward the PE waiver. Injury will not prevent the completion of one season if the principal, athletic director and coach determine that the student actively participated with the team during the injury and took part in any physical rehabilitation required to treat the injury. At the end of a season, coaches/directors will submit a roster of students who satisfactorily completed the season.
Can the waiver be retroactive for current students?
No. The waiver option will begin with the 2025-26 school year.
Can team managers, statisticians, and other helpers receive a waiver?
No. Only students physically participating in the activity are eligible.
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