At a meeting on Monday night, the Austin ISD board of trustees voted to approve a policy which mandates at least 30 minutes of recess for younger students. The policy states that AISD students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade will participate in at least 30 minutes of unstructured physical activity in addition to the 135 minutes of structured physical activity already required by AISD. Additionally, recess cannot be withheld as a punitive measure, as this method does not fit within AISD’s “whole child, every child” philosophy and social and emotional learning goals. The motion to adopt the policy was approved unanimously by the board on consent. At a board work session earlier this month, AISD Superintendent Paul Cruz said the added unstructured recess time will be implemented at all 85 of the school district’s elementary schools starting with a “soft implementation” this school year and full implementation by the 2017-18 school year.