Governor Josh Shapiro signed a bill on Wednesday, September 9, which mandates recess for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Under the 2026-2027 Pennsylvania state budget, which Shapiro signed in July, schools must provide at least 30 minutes of daily recess for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, and 15 minutes for half-day kindergarten. The budget directs the State Board of Education to provide guidance on scheduled recess and breaks.
Shapiro posted the following last week:
Recess is now the law in Pennsylvania.
Before this year, schools in Pennsylvania weren’t required to give students dedicated recess time so they could take a break from learning, get outside, and just be kids. Our latest state budget changes that.
In my eyes, recess is just as important as learning math, English, science, or history — recess is crucial for things like building social skills and staying active. And now, we’re making sure our kids have the tools they need to succeed both inside AND outside the classroom.
More details about mandatory recess below:
In related news, Shapiro celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to block restrictions on mail voting sought by President Donald Trump.
“We just won in the United States Supreme Court to protect your right to vote by mail,” Shapiro posted on X.com yesterday. “This is the final decision — Donald Trump’s illegal attempt to undermine our Constitution and prevent eligible voters from making their voices heard in this election by voting by mail has failed.”
According to the Associated Press, the decision allows states to continue sending out mail ballots under the same processes they’ve used for years.
Nearly a third of votes cast come through mail ballots. A report by the Brookings Institution published in 2025 found that mail voting fraud occurred in only about four cases out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.
Shapiro posted the following today:
Donald Trump consistently threatens the very rights and freedoms that make us who we are as Americans.
The right to marry who you love, make decisions about your own body, and to cast your vote in our elections — whether in person or by mail — should not be up to his whims.
We’ve repeatedly gone to court — and won — to protect those rights here in Pennsylvania. And if he, or anyone else, tries to take them away, I’ll continue fighting back.
In April, Shapiro joined Pennsylvania as a plaintiff in a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration’s order to compile a list of verified U.S. Citizens who are eligible to vote. It also directed the U.S. Postal Service to take new measures to ensure ballots are sent to eligible voters by placing a barcode on ballot envelopes.
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Photo: Commonwealth Media Services