Guthrie schools extend school day by 10 minutes to meet new state recess law

Beginning with the upcoming school year, Guthrie Public Schools will add 10 minutes to the school day to comply with a new state law requiring additional daily recess for younger students.

The Guthrie Board of Education approved the change with a 6-0 vote during Monday evening’s meeting after Superintendent Dr. Mike Simpson explained the district’s plan to comply with Senate Bill 1481, commonly referred to as the “recess law.”

The new law requires students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade to receive 40 minutes of recess each school day, an increase from the previous 30-minute requirement.

Dr. Simpson said a recent interpretation by the Oklahoma State Department of Education determined that the additional recess time cannot count toward instructional minutes, requiring districts to lengthen the school day to meet state instructional requirements.

“This will require us to add 10 minutes to the instructional day,” Simpson told board members.

After district leadership met to discuss possible solutions, administrators recommended adding five minutes to both the beginning and end of the school day.

Under the new schedule, school will begin at 8:10 a.m. and dismiss at 3:15 p.m.

The first day of school is slated for Aug. 13.

Simpson said he has communicated directly with the Senate author of the legislation, who has expressed a willingness to revisit the language during the next legislative session to clarify what Simpson described as a misunderstanding in the State Department of Education’s interpretation.

“I felt like the best course of action was to get the folks in the room that have to deal with this every day to put together the best scenario possible, and I believe that they did with the five minutes on each side,” Simpson said.

He noted Guthrie is not alone in making schedule adjustments, as many districts across Oklahoma are facing similar changes.

Fortunately, Simpson said Guthrie will not have to add additional days to the school calendar because the district already exceeds the state’s required number of instructional days.

The district will now work with its transportation department to revise bus schedules and other logistics before the start of the new school year.

“This is not our decision,” Simpson said. “This is a legislative mandate that we are forced to follow.”