WASHINGTON — Virginia could require 20 minutes of recess or other physical activity each day in elementary schools under a bill working its way through the General Assembly.
“If you go to jail, they let you get an hour a day of exercise. But we’re saying you can’t get 20 minutes in school, and I think that’s wrong,” the bill’s sponsor Del. Manoli Loupassi, R-Richmond, told the House Wednesday.
The bill advanced toward a final, full House vote even as some delegates voiced opposition to the measure, saying it was just another mandate for local school systems.
“One more activity in a day that is jam-packed with tons of things that schoolteachers need to deal with,” said Del. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William.
“My opposition to this bill is not that I don’t think the kids don’t need physical activity; they do. They also need parents who will turn off the television and read to them,” he added.
Del. Rick Morris, R-Carrollton, said he understood the motivation for the bill, but believes it is too much interference from the state.
“This is the quintessential nanny state bill. This is centralized, top-down dictating of how the local school boards will even conduct, to the number of minutes, recess,” he said.
