HLS 182ES-218 ORIGINAL
2018 Second Extraordinary Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 31
BY REPRESENTATIVE AMEDEE
STUDENTS: Requests that the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education study the
feasibility and advisability of requiring daily recess for students in grades
kindergarten through four and submit a written report of recommendations
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the
3 feasibility and advisability of requiring at least thirty minutes of daily recess for
4 students in grades kindergarten through four and to submit a written report of
5 findings and recommendations, including any recommendations for legislation
6 relative to the issue, to the House Committee on Education not later than sixty days
7 prior to the 2019 Regular Session of the Legislature.
8 WHEREAS, recess, separate and distinct from physical education, is an essential
9component of the total educational experience for children; and
10 WHEREAS, recess provides unstructured play opportunities that allow students to
11engage in physical activity, which is associated with greater academic achievement; and
12 WHEREAS, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), recess is "a
13necessary break" from the classroom and offers not only physical but cognitive, social, and
14emotional benefits; and
15 WHEREAS, the AAP further reports that the period of interruption afforded by
16recess allows "optimal cognitive processing" and that recess makes children "more attentive
17and more productive" in the classroom; and
18 WHEREAS, the AAP states that "recess is a complement to, but not a replacement
19for, physical education" and that while "both have the potential to promote activity and a
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HR NO. 31
1healthy lifestyle, only recess (particularly unstructured recess) provides the creative, social,
2and emotional benefits of play"; and
3 WHEREAS, students who engage in physical activity have better physical and
4mental health, and the establishment of an active lifestyle in childhood leads to a more active
5lifestyle in adulthood; recess also allows children to practice life skills such as conflict
6resolution, cooperation, respect for rules, taking turns, sharing, using language to
7communicate, and problem solving in real situations; and
8 WHEREAS, in the 2018 Regular Session of the Legislature, House Bill No. 842,
9which would have required daily recess for some students, was reported with amendments
10by the House Committee on Education but failed to win final passage by the House of
11Representatives; and
12 WHEREAS, it was expressed that further study of this issue is needed, particularly
13with respect to the potential impact of such a requirement on instructional time.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
15Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the State Board of Elementary and
16Secondary Education to study the feasibility and advisability of requiring at least thirty
17minutes of daily recess for students in grades kindergarten through four and to submit a
18written report of findings and recommendations, including any recommendations for
19legislation relative to the issue, to the House Committee on Education not later than sixty
20days prior to the 2019 Regular Session of the Legislature.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
22to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state superintendent of
23education.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 31 Original 2018 Second Extraordinary Session Amedee
Requests that the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education study the feasibility and
advisability of requiring at least 30 minutes of daily recess for students in grades
kindergarten through four and submit a written report of findings and recommendations,
including any recommendations for related legislation, to the House Committee on
Education not later than 60 days prior to the 2019 R.S.
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