At the New York City Council Preliminary Budget Hearing on Thursday, March 13, 2025, Hiveclass co-founder Joe Titus advocated for physical education in schools, highlighting the Hiveclass mission to give every learner access to physical education and wellness curricula. At Hiveclass, our goal is to bridge gaps in physical education by offering an inclusive learning experience that promotes both mental and physical well-being in support of a healthy, active and successful life.
You can read the full transcript and/or watch the video here.
New York City Council Preliminary Budget Hearing Schedule
Thursday, March 13, 2025 (10am-2:30pm)
Council Member Rita Joseph, Chair, Committee on Education, Council Members
10:00 AM 1:00 PM
Melissa Aviles-Ramos, Chancellor, DOE
Dan Weisberg, First Deputy Chancellor, DOE
Emma Vadehra, Deputy Chancellor of Operations, DOE
Seritta Scott, Chief Financial Officer, DOE
Nina Kubota, President & CEO, SCA
Cora Liu, Vice President for Capital Plan Management, SCA
2:30 PM Members of the Public
Allotted time: 2 minutes
Joe Titus (CEO & Co-founder of Hiveclass):
Good afternoon,
Thank you, Committee Chair Joseph and the members of the Education Committee, for the opportunity to testify today about the state of physical education in the New York City budget. In 2020, we launched Hiveclass to make physical education and wellness accessible through remote learning. Our standards-based curriculum supports both mental and physical health, providing the foundation for a healthy, active lifestyle.
In 2016, the City launched the PE Works program, which helped principals prioritize physical education. By 2019, the percentage of elementary schools failing to meet state standards dropped from 96% to just 21%, and nearly every school had a PE teacher.
However, COVID-19 disrupted this progress, leaving many students unable to move or engage in physical activity. Today, 20% of students are not meeting required PE instruction time, with higher rates among Black and Hispanic students.
At Hiveclass, we believe that physical education is essential for both academic and emotional development. Just as students learn math and reading, they also need to learn how to collaborate, resolve conflicts, and build relationships. Yet PE is the most skipped class in many schools. We believe this is partly because traditional PE classes struggle to address the complex needs of students, including bodily changes, social pressures, and academic stress.
Physical education gaps disproportionately affect lower-income students, who often lack access to alternative activities. Club sports have become expensive and inaccessible for many families, making it harder for all students to stay active. These disparities in physical education, much like disparities in academics, should not be accepted.
Hiveclass is committed to closing these gaps, but we need the City’s support. We urge the City to fund physical education programs so all NYC students, especially our most vulnerable, can have access to the tools they need for a healthy, active, and successful life.