A bill that would have set new minimum standards for recess in public schools and kept certain chemical additives out of Kansas school lunches died in the House on Thursday.
The House voted down the bill 40-83. It had already passed the Senate 24-13.
The bill had two major components:
- It would have kept 12 chemical additives out of school lunches, excluding any food items bought a la carte or from vending machines. The bill technically applied to free and reduced-price meals, but as a matter of practice it would still apply to primary meals because federal rules don’t allow schools to serve different food to students based on income. The bill required schools to certify that they don’t serve food that contains any food additives that would be prohibited by the bill as part of a free or reduced-price meal.
- It also would have required 30 minutes of daily organized recess for students in kindergarten through the fifth grade. The new standard would have started in the 2027-28 school year. The time required for organized recess would have been considered part of the school day. Recess could not be limited or withheld for disciplinary reasons unless the student was determined to be a threat. Starting in the 2026-27 school year, the bill also would have required the Kansas State Board of Education to establish a fitness test aligned with the Presidential Physical Fitness test to assess the overall fitness of students in grades one through 12. Students would be required to take the test annually unless they have a disability or a medical exemption.
The overall bill drew opposition from lawmakers who questioned whether it was the Legislature’s role to be deciding how school districts administer recess.
“This bill is just dumb,” said Democratic state Rep. Linda Featherston of Overland Park.
“Nobody opposes recess,” Featherston said. “We don’t need to legislate recess. Every grade school in Kansas already has recess.”
She also criticized the bill because it designated students in kindergarten through the fifth grade for 30 minutes of daily organized recess.
Featherston said at least one school in her district runs through the sixth grade.
She questioned what would happen to sixth-grade students under the bill in those circumstances.
Featherston also described another portion of the bill as “useless and dumb” that would establish a fitness test aligned with the Presidential Physical Fitness test to assess the overall fitness of students in grades one through 12.
She said the presidential fitness test does not exist.
Democratic state Rep. Jerry Stogsdill of Prairie Village said bill stepped on local control. He suggested that the physical fitness test would affect a student’s self worth.
“I’m 100% in favor of recess. Kids need recess,” Stogsdill said.
“For over 160 years, parents, teachers and local school boards have been able to deal with the subject of recess,” Stogsdill said.
“This is just another overreach by the Legislature to tell school boards how to do the job they’ve been doing very effectively for over 160 years,” he said.
He also questioned the value of the fitness test.
Stogsdill objected to the physical education test rewarding the top 50% of kids who completed the exam as well as the top 15%.
“How do you think that impacts those kids on the lower 50%? he asked. “It’s humiliating. It’s an attack on their self-esteem.”
Republican state Rep. Susan Estes of Wichita, chair of the House education committee, said recess is a lot more important than many think.
“That unstructured play and getting a chance to get outside…and let yourself process things and interact with other children is important,” Estes said.
The bill was introduced by Republican state Sen. Doug Shane of Louisburg.
“The importance of recess and physical activity for children as part of their school day is not a novel and untested concept,” Shane said during floor debate on the bill earlier in the session.
“Frankly, Kansas and many other states have fallen behind national and international guidance and have not followed the evidence when it comes to recess and exercise during the school day,” Shane said.
“This legislative session, this chamber has already voted to remove harmful ingredients from school lunches and ban cellphones due to the impacts that these have on children’s health and learning,” he said.
“Recess and physical activity are no less consequential than those prior issues,” he said.
