On Sept. 10, the New Jersey Department of Education issued a memo clarifying when the law mandating a daily 20-minute recess period for students in grades kindergarten through five would take effect.

The Attorney General’s office provided an opinion to NJDOE that the new law does not go into effect until the 2019-2020 school year. Since the law was signed on Aug. 10, after the July 1 date that statutorily begins the school year, the first full school year following the effective date of the act begins July 1, 2019.

The clarification provides time for districts to make any needed adjustments to schedules.

The full text of the law is available here.