NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the centers for disease control and prevention reports that approximately seventeen percent of 12.7 million children and adolescents between the ages of two and nineteen years are obese. The legislature further finds that the Washington state department of health reports that in 2012, about twenty-five percent of children in the state between the ages two and four years old were overweight or obese; and about twenty-three percent of tenth graders in Washington's public schools were overweight or obese. The legislature recognizes that the United States department of health and human services, the United States department of education, the national association for sport and physical education, and the American heart association recommend that school-aged children should participate in at least sixty minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity. The legislature acknowledges that participation in a regularly scheduled recess period provides an opportunity for children to engage in essential physical activity and to establish healthy habits early in life. The legislature further acknowledges that recess also affords a child the opportunity to practice skills such as cooperation, communication, and creativity, and a break from the day's routine improves attention, focus, behavior, and learning in the classroom. The legislature intends to provide elementary students with a daily recess period because recess is such a vital component of a comprehensive school physical activity program and the total educational experience for elementary school students.


State of Washington	64th Legislature	2016 Regular Session