Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 22 D · 4 R cosponsors

HB 2217 — An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in terms and courses of study, providing for recess and lunch periods.

Last action — Referred to Education

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 12, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 26 sponsors

    1 primary, 25 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (22 D · 4 R) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

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AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

The bill mandates specific durations for recess and lunch periods in schools, establishing requirements that did not previously exist.

  • Section 1512.2

    Section 1512.2. Recess and Lunch Periods.--(a) A school entity shall provide each student at least thirty minutes of recess during each school day in full-day kindergarten through grade five, at least fifteen minutes of recess during each school day in half-day kindergarten, and at least thirty consecutive minutes of lunch during each school day in full-day kindergarten through grade twelve, subject to the following: (1) Students shall not be permitted to replace lunch time with additional coursework or instruction unless requested by the student. (2) Lunch time shall not be withheld, in whole or in part, as a disciplinary measure or as a make-up period for missed work, extra credit or testing. (3) A student shall be excused from a lunch period due to the observance of the student's religious beliefs, which may include the student not being physically present in a school cafeteria during a lunch period. (4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the ability of a school entity or its employes to withhold, in whole or in part, recess as a disciplinary measure for violations of the school entity's code of student conduct established under 22 Pa. Code § 12.3(c) (relating to school rules) or other school entity policies or classroom rules. (5) A school entity may not reduce instructional time in subjects that are not assessed by a State assessment as defined in section 1502-I in order to provide recess, unless instructional time is also equitably reduced in subjects assessed by a State assessment. (6) A school entity may adjust and reduce the amount of recess time required under this section if the starting time or dismissal time of a school day is delayed or adjusted from normal times. (b) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Kindergarten" means a one-year formal educational program that occurs during the school year immediately prior to first grade. "Recess" means a period of time during the regular school day during which a student is given a break from structured classroom instruction and an opportunity to engage in physical activity, unstructured play or social interaction with other students. The term shall not include lunch time or a period of physical education as provided under section 1512.1. "School entity" means a school district, intermediate unit, area career and technical school, charter school, regional charter school or cyber charter school.

    This addition establishes new requirements for recess and lunch periods in schools, including minimum time allocations and conditions under which lunch may not be withheld.

Action History

  1. Referred to Education

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 25 co-sponsors · 227 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (25)

Not signed on (227)

227 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 227 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 2217?
HB 2217 is sponsored by Danielle Friel Otten (Democratic), Patrick J. Harkins (Democratic), Melissa L. Shusterman (Democratic), Christina D. Sappey (Democratic), Liz Hanbidge (Democratic), Malcolm Kenyatta (Democratic), Jeanne McNeill (Democratic), Dan Frankel (Democratic), Tarah Probst (Democratic), Benjamin V. Sanchez (Democratic), Robert Freeman (Democratic), Carol Hill-Evans (Democratic), Kristine C. Howard (Democratic), Robert E. Merski (Democratic), Nancy Guenst (Democratic), John C. Inglis III (Democratic), Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (Democratic), Melissa Cerrato (Democratic), Joseph C. Hohenstein (Democratic), Jill N. Cooper (Republican), Tim Briggs (Democratic), Mandy Steele (Democratic), Marla Brown (Republican), Russ Diamond (Republican), Jamie L. Flick (Republican), and Nathan Davidson (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 2217?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced February 12, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 2217?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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