Students get mandatory 30-minute recess under a new California law

California students will soon have a mandatory 30-minute recess, thanks to a new state law.

Senate Bill 291 was introduced by California state Sen. Josh Newman, chair of the Senate Committee on Education, in February.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the education bill into law in October, but it won't go into effect until the 2024-2025 school year.

Newman said the new law will help students and teachers by providing kids with “an outlet to reset their minds” from classroom instruction.

“As California finally emerges from the (COVID-19) pandemic and its impacts, we are seeing some of the lingering effects on children's social-emotional development play out in the form of behavioral disruptions which have become increasingly prevalent in classrooms,” Newman said in a February news release.

“The benefits of the unstructured play and peer-topeer social interactions offered by recess are more important now than ever,” he added in the release.

Before SB 291 became law, students in public elementary and middle school grades in California could be denied recess as a form of disciplinary action.

California public schools were allowed to deny students recess for things such as “failing to finish work, talking out of turn or not following directions,” according to the February news release.

States including Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Arizona have already adopted standardized recess policies. Now it's California's turn. Under the new law, students in the Golden State will be entitled to a halfhour break on full instruction days.

On days when students have shorter school schedules, a minimum break of at least 15 minutes will be mandatory.

The only exception for mandatory school recess breaks will be on classroom field trip days.