By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – While Illinois lawmakers are waiting to consider a budget, other bills are out there to vote on. Such as – requiring recess in the state’s public schools. This would be for kindergarten through fifth grade.
The bill could be one more addition to a chief complaint of Illinois homeowners, said State Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Alpha). “We talk about property taxes. We talk about mandates. Here’s a mandate that could potentially add property taxes within our districts, because schools now have another mandate: to have recess,” Swanson said. “I’m not an anti-recess person, but I think it should be up to the school board, it should be up to the administration, it should be about local control.”
State Rep. Kathleen Willis said this is not child’s play. “While many people hate mandates, I think this is one that is actually going to do good for our students,” she said. “Not only for their physical health, helping them get some extra exercise, but their mental health, too, to just take a breather away from things. Many of us have found on the House floor, when we are here for long periods of time, to go take a walk. It helps us refocus.”
State Rep. Aaron Ortiz (D-Chicago), the sponsor, said he never had recess in school.
SB 654 has passed the House, 60-52, and returns to the Senate for concurrence.
Dave Dahl can be reached at news@wjbc.com
