ICYMI: Mandatory School Recess Gains Ground In Florida Senate

TALLAHASSEE, FL —A bill that would make it mandatory for elementary schools in the Sunshine State to provide 20 minutes of recess daily is making its way through the Florida Senate. Members of the Senate’s education committee voted 7-0 on Tuesday to move the bill forward. It is now in the hands of the appropriations subcommittee for education.

The bill, filed last November, would require all public schools to provide “a minimum number of minutes of free-play recess” each week for children in kindergarten through the fifth grade. That breaks down to 20 minutes a day. Should the measure make it all the way past Gov. Rick Scott’s desk, it would go into effect on July 1, 2017.

A similar proposal was floated during last year’s legislative session. The bill sailed through the House, but was dead on arrival in the Senate where former Sen. John Legg, the once chairman of the Senate’s committee on education, shut it down. With Legg’s departure from the Senate, the bill may have a greater chance of reaching Scott’s desk this year.

See also: Florida Mom Fights For Recess In Schools

Last year, Legg said he supported the concept behind the bill, but felt that Tallahassee shouldn’t make such mandates on local school districts.

“I completely support recess and giving our principals the ability to manage school-based issues,” Legg said. “The scheduling of the school day is best determined by our local education leaders, not a one-size-fits-all Tallahassee recess mandate. This proposed mandate removes a teacher’s ability to manage their classroom, and it fails to consider parental choice and the uniqueness of each student.”

A lack of a uniform recess policy across the state made headlines in 2015 when a Polk County mother began a petition requesting 20 minutes of recess daily. The petition garnered hundreds of signatures.

The House is also reviewing an identical bill. The last action there was referral to several subcommittees. It’s unclear when those committees might take it up.

The full text of the bill can be read on the Senate’s website.

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