Comptroller: Thousands Of NYC Public School Students Aren't Getting Mandated Gym Time Or Space

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - New York City's public schools are being accused of dropping the ball when it comes to kids' physical education.

Nearly one third of New York City school children have no full-time certified gym teacher, and 80 percent of co-located schools lack physical education facilities, according to a report by the comptroller's office.

City Comptroller Scott Stringer says the Department of Education is in violation of state law.

"This failure is even more outrageous when you learn 506 schools don't have a full-time, certified phys ed teacher," Stringer told 1010 WINS. "That's more than 30 percent of our schools."

Click here to read the full report (.pdf)

He's calling on the Department of Education to do a system-wide analysis in order to provide all students with certified instructors and places to exercise. He also want the department to update its phys ed plan and submit it to state regulators, as required by law.

"Obesity is a very serious issue for our kids. We have so many kids that struggle with obesity or severe obesity," Stringer said. "When you think about the fact that we found no full time physical ed teachers in 59 percent of our elementary schools, this has real public health implications."

"It's no accident that our data found that a correlation between a lack of certified Phys Ed teachers, lack of gym space that we see obesity and severe obesity in our children," Stringer told CBS2's Elise Finch.

"With training and support for schools, the DOE is bringing innovation and new physical education training for teachers so they can provide expansive opportunities for students. We will review the Comptroller's recommendations and will support our school communities to continue to improve physical education for all our students."

Finch said many said they hope seeing the details in this report actually brings about some change for NYC school children.

"I have a son who's slightly overweight and I would really like that the same emphasis that is put on reading and math be put on physical education," said parent Miriam Aristy-Farer.

"Physical education is an important part of our students' learning experience and delivers our school children not only physical fitness, but a well-rounded education," a spokesperson for the DOE told CBS2.

"It's important for the little kids to play and interact with each other, talk, get to know each other," said Harlem father Yjhoselyn Feliz.

Stringer said he hopes this report will lead the DOE to create a new certified plan for city-wide physical education.

The DOE says they will study the recommendations in the report.

For an interactive map of school phys ed facilities detailed in the report, click here.