Jan. 21, 2026 6:45p
(WGTD)---A coalition of parents, teachers and school board members that’s based in the Kenosha-Racine area is pushing a bill that would require public and charter schools in Wisconsin to schedule at least one hour of recess every day for kindergarten through sixth-grade students.
On WGTD’s Education Matters, advocates discussed the bill and its benefits.
Guests included Shannon Wysocki, the co-leader of ‘Say Yes to Recess Wisconsin’; Kenosha parent and teacher Sam Roochnik; Kenosha School Board member Bob Tierney and Racine School Board member Scott Coey who also teaches in KUSD.
Wysocki argues that recess is just as important as classroom instruction. "Research shows that recess improves academics. It improves the well-being of children," she argues. "When people look at how child development is, right now what we are asking children to do in the schools is not developmentally appropriate."
Recess is defined in the bill as supervised, unstructured time for physical activity, play, organized games or social engagement with other students. Students at recess would not be allowed to use electronic devices like phones or tablets.
Kenosha Unified spokesperson Tanya Ruder tells Wisconsin Public Radio that the district is monitoring the bill with an eye on whether it might lead to additional costs. The district also wants to make sure that existing state-mandated academic requirements can be met without increasing the length of the school day.
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