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Keller ISD trustees discuss refining recess rules, weather metrics and scheduling to maximize outdoor time

5864792 · September 25, 2025
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Summary

Trustees and administrators discussed updating the district's administrative regulation on recess, including switching to UIL-recommended wet-bulb globe temperature metrics, addressing lunch/recess scheduling and preventing punishment-by-denial of recess.

Trustees asked administration to revisit Keller ISD’s administrative regulation for recess after rising parent concern that students were being kept inside for weather or disciplinary reasons and because transition times at elementary campuses can sharply reduce play time.

Administrators said the district currently follows temperature-based guidelines and that athletics now uses wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) — a more localized metric accounting for heat, humidity and wind — to determine whether outdoor activity is safe. Assistant administrators and principals recommended shifting to WBGT for consistency with UIL guidance and for more precise, site-specific decisions.

Trustees and several parents also raised scheduling concerns: at some elementary campuses, the time it takes to move groups to outdoor space often trims recess to 10–15 minutes of play, undermining the benefits of unstructured outdoor time. One trustee relayed feedback from students: “There’s nothing fun about indoor recess. It’s boring. I can’t get my energy out.” Trustees discussed whether the district should lengthen recess windows or adjust specialty schedules to allow longer uninterrupted play.

Administrators noted other constraints — air-quality and ozone action days, health exemptions for individual students, and the need to provide supervision for both participating and nonparticipating students — and said the district’s wellness and safety teams will collaborate with principals to revise the regulation. The health advisory (SHAC) committee was identified as a stakeholder to help shape any recommended changes.

The board asked administration to draft a revised administrative regulation that: (1) evaluates adopting WBGT as the official weather metric for outdoor activity, (2) examines scheduling models that maximize uninterrupted outdoor time for elementary students, and (3) clarifies that recess should not be withheld as a standard behavior punishment that removes a child’s only outdoor time.