Arizona lawmakers are making students very happy with a new bill that was signed into law by Governor Doug Ducey. The new bill mandates that all public and charter schools in the state set aside two periods per day for recess. The law applies students in kindergarten through third grade in 2018. In 2019, the law will grant the extra recess to students in grades four and five.
Legislators have been trying to pass the recess mandate for at least a decade. They met stiff resistance from people who claimed that any time spent outside the classroom would hurt students academic performance.
Many experts believe that recess is important, especially for younger students. Even spending just five minutes letting loose can boost productivity in the classroom.
The new law does not dictate how long recess must last, or when students should be given a break. That decision making will be left up to the individual schools. Arizona Senator Sylvia Allen said the people, especially children "need a break to get up, move around, to be able to come back and they do better."
“We’re very careful here not to try to mandate a lot of different things but this is a no-brainer,” Allen said. “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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