Oklahoma elementary students got twice as much recess this school year compared to years prior. A law signed April 22, 2026, requires 40 minutes a day for kindergarten through fifth grade starting in 2026-27, up from 20 minutes, and bars schools from taking recess away as discipline, the Oklahoma Voice reported.
That puts Oklahoma with Arkansas and Tennessee at the top of the country for required recess. Together, the three states enroll 960,283 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, according to allk12's analysis of federal enrollment data.
Most states have no such rule. A review of state laws published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in November 2025 found that 21 states and Washington, D.C., had a recess law as of December 2024, while 49 states had physical education laws. Some of those recess laws do not require recess at all. They only govern how it works when a school chooses to offer it, or ban taking it away.
Daily recess minimums by state
| State | Daily requirement | Grades or conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 40 minutes | Public elementary schools |
| Tennessee | 40 minutes | Elementary, starting 2025-26 |
| Oklahoma | 40 minutes | K-5, starting 2026-27 |
| Washington | 30 minutes | K-5, plus sixth grade in elementary schools, on days longer than five hours |
| Illinois | 30 minutes of play time | K-5, on days of five hours or more |
| California | 30 minutes (15 on early-release days) | Only where a school offers recess |
| Florida | 20 consecutive minutes (100 a week) | K-5; charter schools exempt |
| Rhode Island | 20 consecutive minutes | K-6 |
| New Jersey | 20 minutes | K-5 |
| Missouri | 20 minutes | Elementary; can be combined with lunch |
| Connecticut | 20 minutes of physical exercise | Elementary |
| Louisiana | 15 minutes | K-5 |
| Arizona | Two recess periods, no minimum length | K-5; a PE class can count as one |
| Georgia | Daily, no minimum length | K-5; not required on PE days |
| Virginia | Daily, no minimum length | Elementary; set by state regulation |
Sources: state statutes and regulations, Oklahoma Voice, and the Tennessee House Republican Caucus. Texas has no daily recess requirement.
Tennessee made the biggest jump. A law signed in May 2025 raised its minimum from 15 minutes to 40 for elementary students. Arkansas set 40 minutes in 2019, when a state law said at least 40 minutes of instructional time "per school day shall be used for recess" in public elementary schools.
California's 2023 law sets 30 minutes on regular days, but it covers recess provided by a public school and does not require schools to offer recess. Washington requires 30 minutes only on days longer than five hours. Missouri lets schools fold its 20 minutes into the lunch period.
Taking recess away
Many of these laws are as much about keeping recess as about how long it lasts.
- California bars denying recess unless a student's participation poses an immediate threat to the physical safety of that student or others.
- Illinois requires schools to prohibit withholding play time as discipline, with the same safety exception.
- Texas and West Virginia bar school staff from restricting recess or other physical activity for students below sixth grade as a penalty for behavior or academic performance. The Texas rule took effect September 1, 2025.
- Oklahoma and Tennessee added bans along with their 40-minute rules.
- Connecticut lets districts restrict recess for safety, or once a week if the student still gets 20 minutes, but never for unfinished work or academic performance.
- New Jersey allows it only for a code of conduct violation, no more than twice a week, and requires restorative justice activities instead.
- Rhode Island asks teachers to make "a good-faith effort to not withhold recess for punitive reasons."
What health experts recommend
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and SHAPE America, a national group for health and physical education teachers, recommend that schools "provide all students K-12 with at least 20 minutes of recess daily" and not exclude students from recess for discipline or classroom performance.
The American Academy of Pediatrics calls recess "a crucial and necessary component of a child's development" and says it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons. Its policy statement does not set a number of minutes.
States leave the rest to districts, so the recess a child actually gets can vary from one school to the next. You can look up any elementary school in the allk12 schools directory to find its district and contact information.
Sources
American Journal of Preventive Medicine: State laws on physical education and recess
Oklahoma Voice: New law doubles elementary recess time in Oklahoma schools
Tennessee House Republican Caucus: Bill increasing recess time signed into law
Revised Code of Washington 28A.230.295: Recess
California Education Code 49056: Recess
Florida Statutes 1003.455: Physical education and recess
Revised Statutes of Missouri 167.720: Recess
Virginia Administrative Code 8VAC20-132-190
CDC and SHAPE America: Recess for all students
American Academy of Pediatrics: The Crucial Role of Recess in School
Enrollment figures from allk12's analysis of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data, 2024-25.
