District 97 Board approves physical-education waiver after teacher warns cuts would reduce health instruction

The Oak Park Elementary School District 97 Board of Education on Aug. 12 voted to submit a physical-education waiver request after closing a public hearing that drew no public commenters. The board moved to open the hearing and later approved sending the waiver request for review.

The vote followed public comment from Jennifer Rhodes, a health teacher at Brooks Middle School and member of the Oak Park Association (OPA), who said a proposed schedule change that shortens class periods would require removing whole units from health and physical-education curricula. "There will indeed be lessons and entire units that'll be cut from the curriculum that only allows for 50 minute classes," Rhodes said.

Rhodes told the board she had solicited student feedback and described how neurodivergent students and those with histories of trauma process classroom instruction differently. She said extended instructional time in subjects such as math does not by itself close achievement gaps because some students need smaller-class or differently structured supports. "Smaller class size with students of all abilities receiving universal design…that's the true benefit that makes a positive impact for those experiencing an achievement gap, not extended class time," she said.

Board members opened the public hearing on the waiver (agenda item No. 5) at the start of the meeting and recorded no public commenters during the hearing. The board then moved to close the hearing and later approved a motion to submit the district's physical-education waiver request. Meeting records show the motion passed.

The record does not include a text of the waiver itself, nor does it specify what statutory standard or state rule the waiver seeks to waive; board presentations and motions indicated only that the district will submit the request. The board did not adopt changes to instructional schedules at the Aug. 12 meeting; discussion and public comment addressed the likely curricular effects if shorter class periods are implemented.

Board members and staff asked no procedural questions on the record during the public comment period, and no additional speakers weighed in on the waiver at the hearing. Rhodes requested the board consider alternatives that preserve health and mental-health techniques for students who rely on those lessons.

The board’s next formal steps, as stated in the meeting, are administrative: filing or submitting the waiver request for the appropriate state review (the transcript records that the waiver will be submitted but does not record a filing date or state office). The board did not vote at this meeting to change school schedules; any schedule changes or curriculum reductions would require separate action or administrative implementation.

Rhodes’ remarks and the board's approval of the waiver were recorded in the meeting transcript; Rhodes appears during the regular public-comment portion of the agenda and her remarks were the only public comment on this topic at the Aug. 12 meeting.