Daily Physical Activity (DPA) in Schools: Roles of Public Health Unit Personnel in Supporting the Polic

School-based physical activity policies and programs have been shown to be associated with a range of benefits including increased physical activity, fitness and additional health outcomes (Dobbins, Husson, DeCorby, & LaRocca, 2013; Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2013; Kahn et al., 2002). In 2005, the Ontario Ministry of Education (EDU) released Policy/Program Memorandum 138 which required elementary school students in grades 1-8 to “have a minimum of twenty minutes of sustained moderate to vigorous physical activity each school day during instructional time” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006, p.6). This policy, known as Daily Physical Activity (DPA) is important since, if implemented consistently, it would contribute to the targeted 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day recommended in Canadian and international guidelines for children and youth (Tremblay et al., 2011). While a number of other provinces have adopted DPA policies (Alberta Education, 2018; British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2018; Nunavut Department of Education, 2018; Olstad, Campbell, Raine, & Nykiforuk, 2015), the Ontario policy is unique in that it specifically states that DPA must be conducted during instructional time. Previous overview papers, as well as studies conducted on a municipal level, indicate that DPA has not been implemented consistently in Ontario (Patton, 2012; Ramanathan, Allison, Faulkner, & Dwyer, 2008; Robertson-Wilson & Levesque, 2009; Stone, Faulkner, Zeglen-Hunt, & Bonne, 2012). To support evidence-informed decisions and enhance accountability, a joint report by Cancer Care Ontario and Public Health Ontario recommended that the provincial government “evaluate the implementation, feasibility and quality of the daily physical activity policy in Ontario elementary schools, and address the need for continued implementation” (Cancer Care Ontario & Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, 2012, p.36). To contribute to meeting this need, a series of studies (including the one reported here) was developed to evaluate the factors influencing initial development and implementation, as well as the current status of DPA implementation in Ontario (Allison et al., 2014; Allison et al., 2016; Shah et al., 2017; Allison et al., 2018). A key finding, based on representative sample surveys of elementary school administrators and teachers, was that 61% of administrators indicated that DPA was being implemented in fidelity to the policy requirements, while 50% of teachers indicated that it was being implemented in fidelity with the policy in their classrooms (Allison et al., 2016). The school is seen as an important setting for facilitating inter-sectoral partnerships and actions to promote adolescent health (Healthy Kids Panel, 2013; IOM, 2013; Lee & Gortmaker, 2012). In Canada, both health and education are provincial responsibilities, with a resulting need for partnership, collaboration, and mutual support between these sectors in relation to school and student health. In the case of the Ontario DPA policy, EDU led the development and supported the initial implementation of DPA. They did this in collaboration with other ministries; however, school boards had the responsibility of implementing it within the education system (Allison et al., 2014). The public health sector is also an important contributor to school health and wellbeing policies and programs. Through the Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS) in place at the time of the study (Ontario Ministry of Healt