State Representative William Penterman (R-Hustisford) recently introduced a bill to bring back longer recess times in public and charter schools. The bill would require schools to schedule one hour of recess throughout the day, either all at once or split into smaller periods, for kindergarten-6th grade. Educators supporting the bill have argued that longer unstructured play will help students absorb more information in the classroom. Co-sponsor Representative Joy Goeben (R-Hobart) also argued, "Getting kids out, off screens, off of technology, learning to play again...it's really important.

Children need time for creativity and developing confidence and independence, but this development rarely happens in a structured classroom setting. This legislation is a practical way to ensure students in public and charter schools have a balance of structured classroom time and unstructured play.