Is Recess Mandated?
I have been writing this blog for just over three years, now. While I occasionally write about things that are specific to my school district, I generally try to provide information about laws and policies implemented at the state level that affect our teachers, schools and students, globally. Sometimes, I get questions from people that lead me to a blog topic. Some questions reveal themselves to be a problem that is specific to a school district, but most relate to all of Louisiana.
Today, rather than being asked a question, I stumbled into a conversation where a parent asked if recess was mandated for kindergarten, or was it a local district/school decision? Admittedly, I heard this question asked before, but never gave it much thought. This time, it occurred to me that in the 2018 Regular Legislative Session, Representative Beryl Amedee introduced a bill mandating a 30 minute recess everyday for K-12. (Click here to read HB-842) I wasn’t sure what had happened to the bill, but a quick look revealed that while the bill made it out of the education committee, it died on the House floor with 52 nays and 44 yays.
I read through the bill quickly to see why such an idea wouldn’t be a slam dunk. I found that it was very straight forward and simply mandated 30 minutes per day for recess. I vaguely remember some of those who spoke in committee against the bill complaining that mandating 30 minutes out of the school day would reduce instructional time, which would affect test prep, which would blah, blah, blah.
I decided to do some research to see what the current laws and BESE policies actually say about recess. What I found made me realize that there was no need for the bill submitted by Amedee. I also found a few things related to this question that parents would be interested to know.
In 2004, the Louisiana Legislature passed a bill that requires that requires physical activity in schools. (Click here to read the law) In the very first section of the statute, it states:
§17.1. Required physical activity in schools CONTINUE READING: Is Recess Mandated? – Educate Louisiana
