Mandatory Elementary School Recess Could Come with Proposed State Law

ATLANTA, GA – The state House of Representatives has passed legislation that would require all Georgia elementary schools to schedule a daily recess period for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

House Bill 273 stipulates that recess periods must include least 30 minutes of supervised, unstructured and safe activity time, preferably outdoors, starting in the 2017-2018 school year. Additionally, the bill prohibits teachers, administrators and other school officials from withholding recess as form of a punishment.

“This week, I introduced House Bill 273, legislation that simply encourages children to play outside and engage in physical activity,” said one of the bill’s sponsors, State Representative Demetrius Douglas, D-Stockbridge, in a statement last month. “Research shows that students benefit tremendously from recess, and I am proud to sponsor legislation that promotes the physical, social and emotional health of Georgia’s young learners.”

Proponents of the bill contend that to focus on academics exclusively for an entire school day without any kind of break is counter-productive to learning and only serves to add to the growing numbers of children now overweight or struggling with diabetes.

Georgia ranked 17th among the 50 states and Puerto Rico in childhood obesity, according to data released in September 2016 publication called “The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America.” That article cited just under 17 percent of the state’s children aged 10-17 as being considered obese or overweight. That number among Georgia children has improved in recent years, but obesity continues to plague the state as whole.

Those in favor of HB 273 point out that obesity and a lack of physical activity figure prominently in the advent of both diabetes and hypertension.

Critics, however, say that schools are already pressed for time to meet existing academic mandates in reading, writing and math and that codifying recess would only hinder the efforts of educators.

Dr. Sid Chapman, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, said his organization was strongly in favor of the bill.

“We think it’s good that kids can get out to have some free time,” he said. “It also helps a lot with their socialization and their physical health.”

HB 273 passed on March 3 when state representatives overwhelmingly voted 147-17 in its favor. The bill must now be passed in the state senate to become a law.

“Kids are more than test scores,” Chapman said. “We need your child to be fully developed.”

Douglas represents District 78, which includes portions of Clayton and Henry counties, and serves on the State House Banks & Banking, Health and Human Services, Intragovernmental Coordination and Motor Vehicle committees.

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