Do You Support Mandated Recess in Primary Schools?

What’s the story?

• Recess in elementary schools is only required in five states: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Virginia, Indiana, and Montana. Georgia’s governor recently vetoed a bill that would have added The Peach State to the above list.

 What happened in Georgia?

• House Bill 83, the Quality Basic Education Act, would have provided “recess for students in kindergarten and grades one through five.” It also encouraged schools to “include an average of 30 minutes per day of supervised unstructured activity time, preferably outdoors” and advocated recess not be withheld for disciplinary reasons.
• HB 38 passed in a 160-11 in favor vote in the House and 48-4 in the Senate before being vetoed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R).
• Kemp argued that the local boards of education establish recess policies “based on a thorough understanding of day-to-day educational operations as well as regular interaction with administrators, educators, families, and students.”

 “While I support expanded recess opportunities for Georgia’s students, I am a firm believer in local control, especially in education. This legislation would impose unreasonable burdens on educational leaders without meaningful justification.”

What are educators saying?

• A 2018 Study from Voice of Play and International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA) found 97% of educators saying that recess improves conduct in “problem” students and 95% agreeing that recess improves social interactions in students when they play together outside. The study also showed that 2 out of 3 teachers use recess to motivate their students, including decreasing or taking it away as punishment for bad behavior.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that recess gives students opportunity to increase physical activity and it also helps them with social and emotional development.
• Georgia State Rep. Demetrius Douglas (D-Stockbridge), one of the bill’s sponsors, said that he was “very disappointed” in the veto, adding that the bill was  “was introduced to help bring a solution to childhood obesity in [Georgia].”

What do you think?

Should more states mandate schools to include at least half an hour of recess to k-5 students? Or should it be left up to local school boards? Take action and tell your reps, then share your opinions below.

—Veronica You

(Photo Credit: iStock / martinedoucet)