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OKCPS approves temporary schedule changes to add recess time under new state law
Summary
Responding to Senate Bill 1481’s 40‑minute daily recess requirement for K–5, the district approved adding 20 minutes for 2026–27 (state guidance allows counting 20 minutes as instructional this year); the board approved recommended start/end time adjustments and directed staff to study longer‑term changes.
The Oklahoma City Public Schools board voted July 13 to modify school start and end times for 2026–27 so the district can meet a new state recess requirement.
Brad Herzer, the district’s chief talent officer, told the board that Senate Bill 14 81 (effective July 1) requires 40 minutes of daily supervised, unstructured recess for students in kindergarten through fifth grade and that the State Department of Education had provided an interpretation allowing districts to count 20 of those minutes as instructional time for the 2026–27 school year. Herzer said the district recommended adding 20 minutes across tiers to comply this year and that the recommendation reflected transportation constraints and teacher contract report times.
Under the district recommendation presented to the board, typical start and end times would shift as follows for 2026–27: elementary schedules would move 10 minutes earlier and end 10 minutes later (example presented: 08:10–03:20), middle schools would move earlier by 20 minutes, and high schools would dismiss 20 minutes later (high schools were cited as moving dismissal from 02:25 to 02:45 in typical schedules). Herzer said the change adds no or minimal instructional burden for teachers beyond a 10‑minute report‑time shift, and district staff said athletics and concurrent enrollment with Metro Tech would not be adversely affected.
Board members asked about transportation, Metro Tech scheduling, athletics and how many snow days the change would leave; staff said the adjustment required only nine additional minutes to avoid eliminating snow days entirely and that a longer review of tiered start times will be part of a transportation steering and advisory team in 2027–28.
After discussion, the board approved the administration’s recommendation to modify start and end times by voice vote; the clerk announced seven aye votes and no nays.
Staff said the district will continue to monitor impacts such as absenteeism and tardiness and will convene a broader review of start times after implementing new transportation software.
