New law doubles recess time at schools

By NURIA MARTINEZ-KEEL
Oklahoma Voice

Minimum daily recess time is about to double in Oklahoma elementary schools.
A newly enacted law will require 40 minutes of recess per day, up from 20 minutes, for public school students in kindergarten through fifth grade. It will take effect for the 2026-27 school year.
Children cheered from the state House gallery last week when lawmakers voted 86-1 in favor of the recess measure, Senate Bill 1481. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the bill into law on Wednesday.
The law allows recess to be divided into two 20-minute periods, if districts choose to do so.
It also prohibits schools from revoking recess to discipline students.
The bill’s author, Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, said extra time for play could help young children expend pent-up energy, allowing them to better focus during class.
“Moving your bodies around, getting the blood flowing helps you lock in and focus more on your academic work,” Seifried said. “So, I think it really just was a beautiful dovetail into our work in removing cellphones and then also trying to increase literacy and numeracy.”
Seifried and Rep. Chad Caldwell, R-Enid, both authors of the recess bill, wrote legislation last year that barred students from using cellphones at school — a yearlong ban they’re now trying to make permanent.
This year, a major focus for state lawmakers has been adding funding and stricter requirements for reading and math instruction in public schools, with the goal of improving Oklahoma’s poor education rankings.
Seifried described recess as another essential function connected to young students’ academic success. Revoking it to punish antsy or distracting classroom behavior creates a “self-perpetuating cycle,” she said.
“Parents of any 5-, 6-, 7-year old boy will know that they move around a lot,” she said. “Sometimes they’ll get in trouble, and then recess is revoked.
“If you take recess away, it just keeps going, and so that was really important for me to make sure you can’t take it away as a form of discipline.”
Some districts, like Deer Creek Public Schools, already provide 40 minutes of recess while others offer above the state-required minimum of 20 minutes.
Although the new law won’t cause any scheduling adjustments in Deer Creek, a district of 8,100 students in northwest Oklahoma City and Edmond, Superintendent Jason Perez still expressed reservations about legislators requiring the change.
“The broader concern, however, is the continued tendency to add to the academic day without making corresponding reductions elsewhere,” Perez said.
The law is likely to impact elementary schedules in Edmond Public Schools, the state’s fourth-largest district. Edmond elementary schools currently require a minimum of 25 minutes of recess per day.
Spokesperson Jeff Bardach said the district doesn’t have any specifics yet on how it will adjust for the new recess requirement.
“Recess is an essential component of the elementary experience that fosters a lot of social development and physical well-being,” Bardach said. “However, the heart of our mission remains academic excellence; therefore, we strive to strike a balance that honors the need for play without encroaching on the instructional minutes required for student growth and achievement.”