An Arkansas Lawmaker is Pushing for Longer Recess
An Arkansas State Representative has introduced a piece of legislation that, if passed, would require public schools in the Natural State to give students at least 40 minutes of recess every school day. That's more than twice what elementary students in the state currently get. Republican Representative Jana Della Rosa introduced House Bill 1409 late last week in an effort to increase the amount of "unstructured play time," for all children in the state.
In a press release, the legislator explained that the longer recess was necessary not just for kids to "burn off some energy on the playground in order to focus and behave in class," but that it would also "improve their health, academic performance, behavior, and social development." Currently, kids in Arkansas get about 18 minutes of recess.
In the press release, Representative Jana Della Rosa states that she felt compelled to introduce this bill after talking with students and parents alike. She learned that there were lots of kids like Ali Noland's 5 year old daughter, who had to endure 6 hours of sitting attentively in class and received less than 20 minutes of recess.