Senate BillIntroduced
S 6249: Requires a period of unstructured physical play for pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades one through five.
What S 6249 does, verified May 13, 2026
The proposed law aims to require a daily period of unstructured physical play for students enrolled in kindergarten and grades one through five. This period, known as "recess," must be scheduled and supervised, and can be held outside if reasonable. The law proposes two options for scheduling recess: either a single period of at least 30 minutes per day or two periods of at least 15 minutes each per day. The recess time cannot overlap with lunch or physical education periods. The law will take effect on the 90th day after it becomes a law and will apply to school years starting after July 1st of the following year.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO EDUCATION (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 6249
- What is the current status of S 6249?
- As of May 13, 2026, S 6249 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO EDUCATION".
- Did S 6249 pass?
- Not yet. S 6249 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 6249, and where is it now?
- S 6249 was authored by Sen. James Skoufis with 4 coauthors. Its committee of record is Senate Education.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO EDUCATION |
| Mar. 07, 2025 | REFERRED TO EDUCATION |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 7, 2025 · 327 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6249 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 7, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, C. RYAN, TEDISCO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Educa- tion AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring a period of unstructured physical play for pupils enrolled in kindergarten and grades one through five The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 813-a 2 to read as follows: 3 § 813-a. School recess period; Scheduling. 1. As used in this section 4 the term "recess" means a regularly scheduled, supervised, period in the 5 school day for pupils to engage in unstructured physical activity held 6 outside if reasonable. 7 2. Every day of the school year, each elementary school shall either: 8 (a) schedule a reasonable time of no less than thirty minutes for each 9 full day pupil attending kindergarten through grade five to participate 10 in recess; or 11 (b) schedule two reasonable times of no less than fifteen minutes each 12 for each full day pupil attending kindergarten through grade five to 13 participate in recess. 14 (c) such time shall not also be used as a scheduled time to consume 15 lunch as required by section eight hundred thirteen of this article or 16 as a scheduled time for physical education as outlined by section eight 17 hundred three of this article. 18 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 19 become a law and shall apply to school years commencing on and after the 20 first of July next succeeding such effective date. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09199-01-5
Text of S 6249 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions