House committee hears testimony on counting play-based learning as instructional time

The House Committee on Education on Feb. 23 held a public hearing on Senate Bill 15 96 A, a measure that would direct the State Board of Education to allow play‑based learning to count as instructional time for students in kindergarten through grade five.

Proponents framed the bill as clarifying instructional-time rules rather than mandating a specific curriculum. "Play is not a distraction from education. It is education itself," Sen. Suzanne Webber (D., District 16) told the committee, arguing play-based, guided activities support language, executive-function skills and engagement.

Supporters from the classroom and nonprofit sectors said play-based approaches can be aligned to academic standards and help students who struggle with attention or school engagement. "This bill does not mandate play. It does not reduce instructional time. It is permissive," said Sue Bineau, co‑director of Teaching Preschool Partners, who described guided-play practices already used across districts and urged clarity so teachers receive credit for intentionally designed lessons.

Educators offered concrete examples: hands-on engineering tasks, group geometry activities and story-building with loose parts that lead into writing and literacy practice. Sen. Lou Frederick described a classroom exercise he called his "dinosaur math," in which kindergarten and first-grade students moved and counted as part of lessons on addition and subtraction, saying the approach increased engagement and early numeracy.

Zoe Larmer, government relations director for the Oregon Department of Education, told the committee that current rules governing instructional minutes "do not specifically address play-based learning nor whether or not it can be counted towards instructional time minimums," and that SB 15 96 A would direct the State Board to engage in rulemaking on that question. Larmer also said the department does not anticipate needing dedicated resources to implement the bill.

Committee members asked how play-based lessons differ from undirected play and whether districts or ODE would provide materials or guidance. Proponents replied that guided play involves intentional design aligned to standards and that some professional-development and hub-level efforts are already helping teachers adopt the practices.

The committee closed the public hearing; proponents asked the committee to advance the bill to a work session. The measure is scheduled for the committee's next work session on Wednesday.