Adapted physical education is defined as a direct instructional service for school aged students with disabilities who may not safely or successfully engage in unrestricted participation in the vigorous activities of the general physical education program on a full time basis. It is also a specially-designed program for children with disabilities aged three through five, who meet specific criteria. 

In Louisiana, students with disabilities who are unable to participate successfully in a general physical education program are screened and evaluated through a process established by Bulletin 1508, the Pupil Appraisal Handbook. The Pupil Appraisal Handbook outlines the methodology to evaluate the motor skills of students aged three through five and the physical education competency level of the students aged six through twenty-one.