Growing Number Of Teachers Denounce Recently Passed Bill Guaranteeing 30 Minutes Of Recess A Day

A growing number of teachers across the state have continued to denounce a bill signed into law earlier this month that guarantees at least 30 minutes of recess a day, with many saying that schools need to be flexible on the amount of recess time given due to multiple factors based on the individual school.

Senate Bill 291, authored by Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), specifically requires that, commencing with the 2024–25 school year, recess provided by a public or charter school for grades K-8 is to be at least 30 minutes on regular instructional days and at least 15 minutes on early release days. The bill would prohibit school staff members from restricting a pupil’s recess unless there is an immediate threat to the physical safety of the pupil or the physical safety of one or more of the pupil’s peers.

Senator Newman authored SB 291 because of studies showing the importance of recess. Specifically, Newman cited a study from the American Academy of Pediatrics that found that recess “serves as a critical outlet and break for students to reset their minds and bodies during otherwise structured school days filled with academic demands.” He also noted the social, emotional, and physical needs of recess during a school day.

“As California finally emerges from the pandemic and its impacts, we are seeing some of the lingering effects on children’s social-emotional development play out in the form of behavioral disruptions which have become increasingly prevalent in classrooms,” said Senator Newman in a statement earlier this year. “As schools and students seek to recover from COVID-related educational disruptions, the benefits of the unstructured play and peer-to-peer social interactions offered by recess are more important now than ever.”

SB 291 enjoyed a large amount of support throughout the year, with many academics, lawmakers, and some educators praising the bill for preserving recess.

“Recess is the only unstructured time in the school day where students have the opportunity to stretch their social, emotional, and physical development through play, socialization with peers, and interactions with adult,” said Rebecca London, an Associate Professor and recess researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “It is essential that all California students have the right to this downtime every day, and that it is not withheld for punishment. Recess is an important opportunity for building a positive school climate and for helping all students to go back to their classrooms after recess feeling restored and ready to learn. I applaud Senator Newman for prioritizing Recess for All and fully support these efforts.”

The bill passed both the Assembly and the Senate in a landslide last month, with the Senate vote coming in at 39-0 and the Assembly vote tallying 79-0. Earlier this month on the 13th, Newsom then signed the bill into law.

However, praise for the new law has been quickly fading away in the past few weeks, with teachers at the school level now questioning if SB 291 is really needed at all. While teachers agree that recess is needed for the reasons given by Newman, they also said giving students 30 minutes a day with few exceptions doesn’t leave teachers with any leeway or flexibility during times when that would be needed.

“SB 291 is good in several ways,” Linda, a Vice Principal of a school in Southern California, told the Globe. “We all agree that recess is needed. But it is also restrictive. Punishing students by having them not go to recess is needed by many schools to instill discipline, and SB 291 takes that away. And if schools need more time in the day for an added class or assembly? Recess can’t be touched, even if we need a critical 15 minutes more in class time.”

Mallory, a long-time teacher at a school in the Stockton area, added, “On days that have gym, which largely have the same activities as recess, students suddenly get a lot more free time than usual and come back to the classes even more rambunctious. Kids will be kids of course, but they come back still buzzed with energy from that extra time. We can’t remove some recess time to bring back some of that calmness?”

“Talk to any teacher. They love that downtime, because we need that break too. But we also care about our students. And this new law makes it harder for us to get them in line and ready to learn. Flexibility on recess time is needed, not guaranteed recess no matter what.”

Linda also pointed out that “Most students don’t run around and play as much as you’d think, especially the older ones. A lot of them just mill around and talk. So if this law is really concerned about the social well-being of students, it should have stipulated recess times. A lot of schools may be looking at a new system where 15 minutes of recess just gets pushed to the end of the day, so that students can have that free time while on the way out while still being held under the school day. There are ways to make this happen. SB 291 is just making our jobs harder now.”

SB 291 is to come into effect in the 2024-2025 school year.