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Health education in preschool through 12th grade is an essential component of a well-rounded education and can positively impact student health and well-being. All school-age students deserve access to high-quality, effective health education. However, students with disabilities may not be receiving the health education they are entitled to for many reasons, including that there is not a clearly defined understanding of health education for students with disabilities. Working from the perspective that health education is both a social justice imperative and an important component of students’ “well-rounded education” under the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, this article is a call to action and brings attention to this area of need. It is framed around three critical questions: (1) Why do students with disabilities deserve access to health education? (2) How should health education for students with disabilities be conceptualized? (3) Where does accessible health education go from here? By articulating these questions and providing initial thoughts to spur further discussion and action, this article encourages invested partners and collaborators to address this critical need so that students with disabilities can meaningfully access the same high-quality health education opportunities as their peers. © 2026 SHAPE America.

Abstract – Introduction: Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) face barriers to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) such as uncertainty with self-management, limited access to supportive environments, and stigma related to living with diabetes. Opportunities for peer activities with T1D role model support are limited. To address this need, we tested iterative refinements of pilot Virtual Exercise Games for Youth with T1D (ExerT1D) for feasibility and acceptability. Methods: The program included 6 versions: study 1 (1.1–1.4) included an active video game, and study 2 (2.1–2.2) included a virtual reality (VR) active video game. All versions included T1D exercise management education by clinicians and goal-setting guided by young adult coaches with T1D. Results: Seventeen adolescents (median age 15.4 [IQR 14.6–16.4] years, 7 non-Hispanic white, 8 male, median HbA1c 8.1% [IQR 7.4%–11.1%]) were enrolled. Participants rated the program, comfort, clinicians, coaches, and group cohesion high/very high. Motivation for the video game was high. Building T1D and MVPA self-management skills was rated excellent at most sessions, as were peer interactions and enriched communication after adding immersive VR in study 2. Transitions between VR apps caused delays of 19 ± 6 min per 60 min–90 min session. Compared to baseline, HbA1c or glucose management indicator decreased over time in an exploratory analysis (d = −1.12, 90% CI: [−1.78, −0.48]). Conclusions: In a small cohort, the ExerT1D program facilitated a supportive environment for engaging diverse youth with T1D in an MVPA program led by T1D coaches. Larger studies are needed to assess the intervention’s impact on engagement with physical activity, glycemic outcomes, and quality of life. © 2026 S. Karger AG, Basel

Future professionals learn to lead through a variety of professional opportunities, and it is time that JOPERD provides a forum dedicated to their development and an opportunity for them to lead as authors and coauthors. This article describes the new Preservice Pipeline column and how to submit articles. © 2026 SHAPE America.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) face barriers to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) such as uncertainty with self-management, limited access to supportive environments, and stigma related to living with diabetes. Opportunities for peer activities with T1D role model support are limited. To address this need, we tested iterative refinements of pilot Virtual Exercise Games for Youth with T1D (ExerT1D) for feasibility and acceptability. METHODS: The program included 6 versions: study 1 (1.1-1.4) included an active video game, and study 2 (2.1-2.2) included a virtual reality (VR) active video game. All versions included T1D exercise management education by clinicians and goal-setting guided by young adult coaches with T1D. RESULTS: Seventeen adolescents (median age 15.4 [IQR 14.6-16.4] years, 7 non-Hispanic white, 8 male, median HbA1c 8.1% [IQR 7.4%-11.1%]) were enrolled. Participants rated the program, comfort, clinicians, coaches, and group cohesion high/very high. Motivation for the video game was high. Building T1D and MVPA self-management skills was rated excellent at most sessions, as were peer interactions and enriched communication after adding immersive VR in study 2. Transitions between VR apps caused delays of 19 ± 6 min per 60 min-90 min session. Compared to baseline, HbA1c or glucose management indicator decreased over time in an exploratory analysis (d = -1.12, 90% CI: [-1.78, -0.48]). CONCLUSIONS: In a small cohort, the ExerT1D program facilitated a supportive environment for engaging diverse youth with T1D in an MVPA program led by T1D coaches. Larger studies are needed to assess the intervention's impact on engagement with physical activity, glycemic outcomes, and quality of life.

Background College students are vulnerable to setting long-term trajectories of low physical activity (PA) but are reachable via mobile health fitness tracking (eg, mobile health step counting) and interpersonal support tailored to the college community. However, no studies have statistically isolated the appeal and influence of these intra- and interpersonal components in college-based PA interventions. Objective This study retrospectively examined a college-based PA promotion program at a northeast US public university during the COVID-19 pandemic to (1) test the impact of student status on the use of intervention components and (2) determine whether such use was associated with successful retention and goal achievement in the program. Methods The university used a commercial platform for a 30-day PA promotion program during April 2021 with intrapersonal (step-tracker syncing, education, self-monitoring, and motivational messaging) and interpersonal (friend interactions and team games) components. App use was operationalized as intrapersonal (frequency of opening app, education, and self-monitoring) and interpersonal (friends made in-app and team affiliation and size). Results Campus-wide emails elicited sign-up by 156 undergraduate students, 57 graduate students, and 126 faculty and staff members. Objective 1 yielded the following results: undergraduates used the app less frequently (median 0.8, IQR 0.4-1.7 times per day) than other groups (graduate students: median 1.4, IQR 0.7-2.7 times per day; P=.01; faculty: median 1.3, IQR 0.7-2.7 times per day, H2=14.5; P=.001) but made the same number of friends (median 1-2) and teammates (median 8-9; P=.77 for friends and P=.93 for teammates). Objective 2 yielded the following results: most participants (313/335, 93.4%; 95% CI 90%-96%) were retained for the first 7 days, but by 30 days, retention dropped, most notably for undergraduate students (82/154, 53.2%; 95% CI 45%-61%), followed by graduate students (39/56, 70%; 95% CI 56%-81%) and faculty and staff (93/125, 74.4%; 95% CI 66%-82%; χ22=12.6; P<.001). Retention was associated with app engagement frequency (model hazard ratio 0.56, 95% CI 0.43-0.72; P<.001) and affiliation with a team having high median app engagement and a large size (intracluster correlation coefficient 0.064, 95% CI 0.001-0.164, P=.05). Meeting a daily step goal was associated with app engagement frequency (β=.72, SE=0.21; P=.001), number of friends (β=.40, SE 0.20; P=.04), and an initial motive of maintaining or increasing (rather than starting) PA (β=.99, SE=0.21; P<.001). Conclusions College students, compared with faculty and staff, used the app less frequently, used the app for a shorter duration before abandonment, and met the step goal on fewer days. Engagement with the program was associated with longer retention and better PA outcomes, which were critically modified by the interpersonal engagement. These findings suggest that college students using virtual PA support during times of physical isolation could benefit from more tailored implementation strategies (eg, timed prompts and team reassignments).

Because physical literacy and activity are not emphasized in special education as they are in physical education or adapted physical education (PE/APE), this editorial explores two important questions: Do high school transition students receive PE/APE programming? And are PE/APE teachers introduced or exposed to transition services at any point in their teacher training?. © 2026 SHAPE America.

Purpose: This study investigated experiences of physical education teachers (PETs) participating in online remote andragogy-based lesson study (AbLS) during a pandemic. Method: Five PETs participated in this phenomenological case study. Seventeen online AbLS collaborative meetings took place via Zoom software. Three rounds of semistructured interviews were conducted and analyzed using collaborative qualitative analysis. Results: Three themes emerged: (a) AbLS facilitated depth of learning, increasing professional and individual growth; (b) AbLS structure influenced experience; and (c) the professional community of AbLS supported a natural adult learning (andragogical) environment. Discussion/Conclusion: Remote AbLS presented benefits for these PETs beyond professional learning that prior continuing professional development had not, including a sense of community, belonging, and professional worth. AbLS may have implications for research in perceived mattering and continuing professional development facilitation for PETs. Remote AbLS may bolster PETs in challenging local learning communities. © 2026 Human Kinetics, Inc.

Context Access to athletic trainers (ATs) in high schools is crucial for student-athlete (SA) safety. Although most high schools in the United States have access to athletic training services (ATS), no authors have longitudinally compared ATS trends between public (PUB) and private (PVT) school sectors. Objective To compare ATS trends between PUB and PVT schools from the 2018–2019 through 2022–2023 academic years. Design Longitudinal cross-sectional study. Setting Online survey. Main Outcome Measure(s) High school responses to the Athletic Training Locations and Services survey from all 50 US states and the District of Columbia were queried from the 2018–2019 to 2022–2023 academic years. Average numbers of SAs ( SAs ), sports ( Sports ), full-time ATs ( FtATs ), part-time ATs ( PtATs ), and the sum of full-time and part-time ATs ( ATs ), along with the average weekly contracted hours ( CHrs ) and actual hours ( AHrs ) per school, and ratios of SAs : ATs , Sports : ATs , CHrs : SAs , CHrs : Sports , AHrs : SAs , and AHrs : Sports were examined to track ATS trends over 5 years and compare PUB vs PVT schools. Results Public schools had higher SAs and Sports vs PVT schools (both P < .001). Private schools had higher ATs , CHrs , and AHrs than PUB schools (all P < .050). Ratios of SAs : ATs and Sports : ATs were higher in PUB schools, whereas CHrs : SAs , AHrs : SAs , CHrs : Sports , and AHrs : Sports were higher in PVT schools (all P < .050). From 2018–2019 to 2022–2023, PUB schools increased Sports and Sports : ATs ; PVT schools increased SAs , Sports , ATs , and SAs : ATs (all P < .050). Over the years, PUB schools decreased CHrs : Sports and AHrs : Sports ; PVT decreased CHrs : SAs , AHrs : SAs , CHrs : Sports , and AHrs : Sports . FtATs increased in both sectors, whereas PtATs decreased in only PVT schools. Conclusions Overall, ATS were more extensively provided in PVT schools, based on ATs and ATS hours. Both sectors increased FtATs , which is encouraging. However, as SAs and Sports increased, ATS provided per SA and sport declined.

This repeated, cross-sectional study examined trends in the availability of school-based programming to prevent violence in middle and high schools across the United States from 2008 to 2020. Overall, violence prevention programming increased in respondent schools throughout the study period. However, important gaps remain, with lingering state-level disparities.