Alaska schools to start fitness testing in 2027-28, with $1.15 million behind it

Alaska public schools will begin giving students the Presidential Fitness Test in the 2027-28 school year, the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) announced Tuesday. That leaves districts about a year to prepare.

The testing reaches 505 public schools serving more than 130,000 students across 54 school districts. DEED will carry out the work with the Alaska Department of Health and pay for it through the state's Rural Health Transformation Program. Education awards will help districts buy fitness assessment equipment and pay for professional development, the department said.

The state's award list puts a preliminary $1.15 million on the project, notified Aug. 14 as one of 161 projects announced so far. The funding source is separate from the testing mandate itself: Alaska received about $272 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the first year of the Rural Health Transformation Program, part of a $50 billion, five-year national initiative.

The testing traces to Executive Order 14327, signed by President Donald Trump on July 31, 2025, which reestablished the test nationwide and directed the President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition to recommend how to rebuild it. The order frames childhood obesity, chronic diseases and sedentary lifestyles as a growing national security threat. It assigns the test to Health and Human Services with the Education secretary's support, the split Alaska has mirrored.

"The Presidential Fitness Test gives schools another tool to encourage students to move more and have fun with physical activities," Health Commissioner Heidi Hedberg said.

The department's announcement contains no critical voices.