While Pennsylvania lawmakers failed to pass a statewide school cellphone ban in their latest budget, they did manage to pass a measure intended to get students off their electronic devices another way.
In Pittsburgh, district policy advises all elementary and middle schools to offer at least 20 minutes of outdoor recess each day, but notes that "20 minutes may not be possible on a daily basis due to other school scheduling considerations."
The new legislation, however, requires elementary schools statewide to start giving students at least 30 minutes for recess each day. The policy notes that this time, when possible, should not involve electronic devices.
Sally Sherman, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education, said this unstructured playtime has a range of benefits.
"That unstructured aspect of it not only gives [students] all those physical activity benefits — such as cardiovascular fitness, motor skill development, and then decreasing sedentary time," she said. "But it also helps to increase creativity and social intelligence… Even negotiation and resolving conflicts happens in that unstructured playtime, and that's really unique to recess."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend kids get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Sherman said requiring daily recess statewide will help get elementary school students closer to meeting that recommendation daily.
"I would really love to see this [mandate] grow up into older ages as well," Sherman added.
The American Academy of Pediatrics released guidance this spring emphasizing the importance of daily, unstructured recess for all kids of all ages. The group wrote that breaks from academics are shown to help students relieve stress and stay focused once back in the classroom.
But experts also note that not all recess is created equal. A 2023 study of low-income elementary schools in California found that just 56% of schools provided more than 20 minutes of recess daily. Students in larger and lower-income schools received less daily recess than their peers in smaller and higher-income ones.
Sherman said the new Pennsylvania mandate may be more difficult to roll out in schools in neighborhoods without much green space, as well as in understaffed buildings.
"If a school has enough assistance or teachers or enough aides that can really help to keep the children safe and get them out, get them back in, versus if a school is really understaffed, that is going to impact this recess implementation greatly," she said.
The new law states that recess time cannot replace or reduce the minutes students spend eating lunch or in physical education classes. Teachers may still, however, withhold recess from students as a form of disciplinary action.
In a 2018 survey conducted by the Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative, 64% of respondents reported that their school takes away recess as punishment or to complete instructional work.
Sherman said that could work against students who need physical activity the most.
"Very often that burst in physical activity — and that ability to go out and move around, or move their body or sort of get out of the structured learning environment — for some students, they would be able to come back in and then better regulate their behaviors," she explained.
Earlier this year, the School District of Philadelphia adopted a policy that prevents educators from restricting recess as disciplinary action.
While Pittsburgh Public Schools' wellness policy permits teachers to withhold recess as punishment, it notes that this practice "should be limited."
Emily Neff, public policy director for the early childhood advocacy organization Trying Together, said she hopes the new mandate will push districts to prioritize recess more.
"It gives me hope that they're really seeing this as a continuum of learning," Neff said.
"I also hope to see that that can start to really trickle even into the classroom," she continued. "That there's developmentally appropriate practice and more play happening in classrooms and that schools see the power of that with young children."
Gov. Josh Shapiro will visit Gateway High School in Monroeville on Thursday to celebrate the passage of the budget, which also includes $565 million in additional support for historically underresourced schools and mandatory wellness checks for students attending both traditional public and charter schools virtually.
Read more from our partner, WESA.
Copyright 2026 90.5 WESA