There is going to be more play time in Arizona. Lawmakers passed legislation that requires all public elementary and charter schools to have two recess periods, Fox News reported.
The law defines recess as a “period time during the regular school day, including time before or after a scheduled lunch period, during which a pupil is able to engage in physical activity or social interaction with other pupils.”
Republican State Sen. Sylvia Allen sponsored the bill, which passed the House by a 57-1 vote. The Senate approved the measure by a 27-3 margin, Fox News reported.
“There (was) about, maybe a third of our schools in Arizona that were not doing recess,” Allen said. “A recess coalition of very concerned citizens — Christine Davis and Scott Turner -- are two individuals that came to see me. They had been trying to work with school districts that were not providing recess and they weren’t getting anywhere. As I thought about it, I thought, 'Well goodness, these kids need a break.’”
The bill does not specify how long the recesses should be or when they should be scheduled during the school day, Fox News reported. Allen said she wanted the individual schools to make that decision.
“We’re very careful here not to try to mandate a lot of different things but this is a no-brainer,” Allen told Fox News. “After all, adults get breaks at work, right? It’s because they’ve learned that people need a break to get up, move around, to be able to come back and they do better. So, same with children.”
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