ENROLLED
2018 Second Extraordinary Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 31
BY REPRESENTATIVE AMEDEE
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the
feasibility and advisability of requiring at least thirty minutes of daily recess for
students in grades kindergarten through four and to submit a written report of
findings and recommendations, including any recommendations for legislation
relative to the issue, to the House Committee on Education not later than sixty days
prior to the 2019 Regular Session of the Legislature.
WHEREAS, recess, separate and distinct from physical education, is an essential
component of the total educational experience for children; and
WHEREAS, recess provides unstructured play opportunities that allow students to
engage in physical activity, which is associated with greater academic achievement; and
WHEREAS, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), recess is "a
necessary break" from the classroom and offers not only physical but cognitive, social, and
emotional benefits; and
WHEREAS, the AAP further reports that the period of interruption afforded by
recess allows "optimal cognitive processing" and that recess makes children "more attentive
and more productive" in the classroom; and
WHEREAS, the AAP states that "recess is a complement to, but not a replacement
for, physical education" and that while "both have the potential to promote activity and a
healthy lifestyle, only recess (particularly unstructured recess) provides the creative, social,
and emotional benefits of play"; and
WHEREAS, students who engage in physical activity have better physical and
mental health, and the establishment of an active lifestyle in childhood leads to a more active
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lifestyle in adulthood; recess also allows children to practice life skills such as conflict
resolution, cooperation, respect for rules, taking turns, sharing, using language to
communicate, and problem solving in real situations; and
WHEREAS, in the 2018 Regular Session of the Legislature, House Bill No. 842,
which would have required daily recess for some students, was reported with amendments
by the House Committee on Education but failed to win final passage by the House of
Representatives; and
WHEREAS, it was expressed that further study of this issue is needed, particularly
with respect to the potential impact of such a requirement on instructional time.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education to study the feasibility and advisability of requiring at least thirty
minutes of daily recess for students in grades kindergarten through four and to submit a
written report of findings and recommendations, including any recommendations for
legislation relative to the issue, to the House Committee on Education not later than sixty
days prior to the 2019 Regular Session of the Legislature.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state superintendent of
education.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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