Issaquah schools to stop weighing kids

The Issaquah School District says it will no longer weigh teenage students in front of their classmates after a wave of complaints.

The controversy came to light last week when parents of some middle school students complained to officials, saying it traumatized sensitive kids at such a vulnerable age.

The weigh-ins were part of a new Physical Education program aimed at raising awareness about Body Mass Index and health. But Superintendent Ron Thiele says the weigh-ins were never meant to be done in such a public manner.

“While we did not intend to create an uncomfortable environment for students, it has become clear that asking for, or recording, height and weight information in PE classes has had, for some, that unintended effect,” Thiele writes in a letter to families.

But Thiele says the district will continue teaching students about using personal data to monitor their own health and fitness.

“Student health is very important to the Issaquah School District,” he says. “We are confident that we can still meet the goal of educating all students about healthy behaviors without this data.”