Mo. House panel says no to sports as PE credits

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A House committee has scuttled a plan to let sports and marching band count as graduation credits for Missouri high schools.

Legislation passed previously by the Senate would have allowed schools to award one unit of physical education credit to students who participated in three years of marching band or interscholastic sports.

But the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee on Wednesday removed that section from the legislation.

Physical education professors from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Truman State University testified against the provision. They noted that Missouri's standards for physical education courses also include lessons on personal health, disease prevention and the human body.