Champaign CUSD 4 is in contract negotiations with the Champaign Federation of Teachers, and the Board of Education wants to extend the day by 50 minutes starting in fall 2023. Justification for this change is the passage last summer of the Right to Play recess bill which requires 30 minutes of play for grades K-5 in public elementary schools every day. IL Families for Public Schools sent a letter about this to the CUSD 4 Board of Education. Letter here and text below.

New research shared in Ed Week recently confirms what ed experts have been saying for years, which is that tying teacher and admin evaluations to student test scores is deeply unfair in inequitable school systems, harmful to school culture, and not beneficial to student achievement. Researchers from Brown, Michigan State, University of Connecticut and UNC Chapel Hill analyzed a multitude of data from 2009 to 2018 and found no evidence that this policy had even a small positive effect on student achievement. 

Downers Grove parents and students push back against extremist group trying to ban LGBTQ+ books

We shared with you last week that book banning attempts are on the rise nationally, and right here in Downers Grove a meeting was held Monday where a small group of parents supported by outside agitators showed up to try and have award-winning LGBTQ books banned from the school library. Luckily, the community came out in force to speak out against this attempt at this bigoted attempt at censorship. 

IL-FPS has been in the news a lot lately! Check out some of what we’ve been up to below. This coverage is from this past week alone!

Two major changes in the IL School Code went into effect this summer: the Right to Play recess law and a major amendment to the Student Online Personal Protection Act. IL Families for Public Schools was instrumental in drafting and passing these two pieces of legislation.

What do these two new laws mean for students, families and public schools? You can watch the IL Families for Public Schools webinar we held on October 20th to learn what you need to know.

IL School Librarians Burdened by FOIA Request re “1619 Project”

As we’ve been sharing with you, school boards and school districts have been under serious attack by right-wing groups recently. So much so that the National Association of School Boards have asked the Biden Administration for help from federal law enforcement. School boards here in Illinois have faced confrontations over mask requirements, vaccines and how to teach about race. 

The letter from the NASB to Biden mentions that in September in Mendon, IL a man was arrested for aggravated battery and disorderly conduct, which according to the Associated Press was for allegedly striking a school official at a school board meeting.

Is your school in compliance with the new recess law?

The Right to Play, SB654, now PA 102-0357, passed in June and took effect on August 13, 2021 when it was signed by the Governor. We have been hearing from some parents that their schools have not changed the schedule to allow for the 30 minutes of recess and are still taking away recess as a punitive measure.

Recess Law for IL K-5 students is *supposed* to be effective now

We are hearing from some parents who say that their school is not in compliance with the new recess law and that they have until next fall to adhere to it. This law took effect immediately upon signing, and school districts have known about it since late May when it passed the General Assembly. 

Many schools have adjusted their schedules to allow for the 30 minutes of play time, so we know it’s possible. We’re putting together a toolkit for parents on how to bring attention to the new law at the school level so you can advocate to ensure your kids get this much-needed time. In the meantime, our FAQ on the law can be downloaded here, and it has a list of resources you can utilize too.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” --Fred Rogers

With the passage of SB654, the Right to Play Every Day bill, an initiative of IL Families for Public Schools, all students in kindergarten through 5th grade in IL public schools must have 30 minutes of daily play time. Time must be in increments of at least 15 minutes and can't be taken away for punishment.

Play is fundamental to the human experience.  The Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by 190 nations, recognizes play as a basic right for children.

Play is a crucial component of education and development, enhancing a child's social, physical and emotional health along with academic achievement and abilities. Play is learning.

More resources: why we need play in school

BOOKS

• Let the Children Play: How More Play Will Save Our Schools and Help Children Thrive. Sahlberg and Doyle. 2019
• Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life Gray. 2013
• Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children. Elkind. 2007
• A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play. Paley. 2004

ARTICLES

• "A proposal for what post-coronavirus schools should do (instead of what they used to do)." Sahlberg and Doyle. Washington Post. April 2020
• "Kids Need Play and Recess. Their Mental Health May Depend on It." Hynes. Ed Week. Aug. 2018
• "From Playing to Play Advocacy: An Interview with Olga S. Jarrett " Journal of Play. Winter 2019
• "A Research-based Case for Recess." Position paper from the US Play Coalition, American Association for the Child’s Right to Play (IPA/USA) and the Alliance for Childhood. 2019.

PODCASTS

• FreshEd Podcast: Let the Children Play (Pasi Sahlberg and William Doyle) Dec 2 2019
• WBAI's Talk Out of School: "Whole Child Education and the importance of play" Feb 5 2020
• KQED Mindshift: "Childhood As ‘Resume Building’: Why Play Needs A Comeback" Sept 3 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 14, 2021

ILLINOIS LANDMARK RECESS BILL SIGNED INTO LAW
Illinois Families for Public Schools Advocacy Succeeds with One of Strongest Laws in U.S. 

Illinois students in grades K-5 will have 30 protected minutes of recess this school year thanks to the hard work of Sen. Robert J. Peters, Rep. Aarón Ortíz and parent group, Illinois Families for Public Schools (IL-FPS). Governor JB Pritzker signed the bill into law on August 13th, effective immediately.