SENATE MEMORIAL 82

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

Linda A. Lopez

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE AND THE PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TO STUDY MINIMUM RECESS TIME REQUIREMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR ALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN.

     WHEREAS, research finds that unstructured play and exercise benefit students both inside and outside the classroom; and

     WHEREAS, nearly one in three children ages two to nineteen in the United States is overweight or obese, putting those children at risk for serious health problems, according to statistics from the alliance for a healthier generation statistics; and

     WHEREAS, play time supports students' cognitive functioning by giving them a "reset button" for their brain; and

     WHEREAS, play time gives children a chance to explore social and emotional concepts that are emphasized in the classroom, such as self-awareness; and

     WHEREAS, exercise can be thought of as medication and can help increase attention and improve mood for people with attention deficit disorder, according to John Ratey, M.D., an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard medical school; and

     WHEREAS, the value of exercise is being recognized as more and more schools are doing away with withholding recess for disciplinary reasons, pointing to research findings that unstructured play and exercise benefit students both inside and outside the classroom; and

     WHEREAS, the federal centers for disease control and prevention recommends that all elementary school students get at least twenty minutes of recess time each day;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative education study committee and the public education department be requested to study minimum recess time requirements in public school districts for all elementary school-aged children; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of public education and the chair of the legislative education study committee.