State Rep. Files Legislation To Extend Children's Recess

State Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, of D-Norman, is aiming to protect children's recess in newly-filed legislation.

The legislation, known as The Active Oklahoma Kids Act, HB 3047, aims to extend the state's current statute and will keep recess in place for public school students from pre-k to eight grade.

The legislation does not apply to half-day instruction students.

In a statement, Rosecrants said in part,

“I’m passionate about protecting play in the classroom and outside at recess because I’ve seen first-hand evidence that children who have enough time for recess have fewer behavior issues and better mental health outcomes.”

The act would extend recess from 20 minutes to 40 minutes, and would require it to be outside barring any preventative weather conditions.

The legislation would also count as instructional time in addition to being child-led, supervised and unstructured.

Lastly, the act would make recess ineligible to be taken away from students as punishment unless there is a threat to student safety.

The Active Oklahoma Kids Act, HB 3047, was filed for the upcoming session.