A complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education today alleges that a "fitness gap" exists in California schools based on race and ethnicity.
Robert Garcia is with The City Project, one of the civil rights groups that filed the administrative complaint with the department. Garcia points out that only 32 percent of California school kids pass a state test that measures physical fitness.
"But black and Latino students pass at much lower rates," says Garcia. Rates of 26 percent for Latino kids and 22 percent for African-American children, according to data from the University of Southern California.
"That is evidence of discrimination," alleges Garcia. "What's causing that? Several things."
Including, Garcia says, schools failing to satisfy their legal obligation to provide quality physical education. He says schools that don't comply with minimum P.E. requirements are more likely to serve disproportionately Latino or African-American students.
The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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