Elementary school children would have 20 minutes of "unstructured, free-play" recess each day under a bill filed Tuesday by state Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami.
Flores' bill (SB 78) revives a debate about elementary students needing more free play time, in addition to regular physical education classes.
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Her bill would require each school district to provide "at least 100 minutes of supervised, safe, and unstructured free-play recess" each week or 20 consecutive minutes per day for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
The free-play recess would be in addition to the requirement that school districts provide 150 minutes of "physical education" each week for students in K-5 and sixth-grade students who are in schools that contain one or more elementary classes.
Similar legislation failed to pass in the 2016 session. If approved by the 2017 Legislature, the free-play recess requirement would take effect with the school year beginning in August 2017.