Prior to The Right to Play Every Day bill, Illinois was one of many states that didn’t mandate Recess and unstructured play time for elementary aged children.
Thanks to the efforts of Illinois Families for Public Schools, this bill was approved by the Illinois Senate and sent to the Governor for Signature on June 28, 2021.
What does this piece of legislation do?
Schools need to provide 30 minutes of unstructured, child-directed play time which can count towards the minimum clock hours required for the school day.
“Amends the School Code. Provides that all public schools shall provide daily time for supervised, unstructured, child-directed play for all students in kindergarten through grade 8. Specifies further requirements concerning play time. Provides that play time shall not count as a course of physical education. Provides that play time shall be considered clock hours for purposes of the Code. Provides for the inclusion of students with disabilities in play time. Provides that public schools shall prohibit the withholding of play time as a disciplinary or punitive action, except when a student’s participation in play time poses an immediate threat to the safety of the student or others.”
Find the Right to Play Every Day Fact Sheet here.
Some of The Research Supporting the importance of Recess
The CDC published a report in 2017, “Strategies for Recess in School”. In 2010, the CDC published this report, “The Association of School-based Physical Activity, Including Physical Education, on Academic Performance”. The American Academy of Pediatrics published a report in 2013, “The Crucial Role of Recess in School”. The NIH published a report in 2013, “Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School”.
Recess Legislation and Demanding the Right to Play in other states
Illinois isn’t the only one who recently passed similar legislation. Arkansas recently passed a 40 minute per day mandate for elementary aged children. We’ve also been talking about the importance of protecting childhood by demanding their right to play for quite some time.