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Moms Battle to Get Recess Bill Considered, Senator Says, ‘Not on My Agenda’
Picture your children attending a public school that doesn’t allow any time for recess. What would you do? If you were a group of Florida moms known as the Recess Advocates, you’d start a petition that paves the way for a new bill. You’d dedicate countless hours and your own funds traveling to meet with lawmakers. Your bill would breeze through three House committees without a hitch, only to be shut down by a Senator.
That’s precisely what happened last week to the Recess Advocates in Florida. Senator Mike Thompson decided to block Florida House Bill 833 from being heard, despite the strong backing from teachers and parents. His response to the media? “I’m not putting it on the agenda. It doesn’t require a Tallahassee solution.”
In some parts of Florida, children are getting absolutely no recess. Not a single minute. The state doesn’t mandate recess, leaving it up to individual counties to decide whether to offer it. It seems like a no-brainer, right? Everyone knows kids need that break, so surely counties are ensuring they get it? Not in Florida. While some states tackle recess issues head-on, Florida’s intense focus on testing has turned recess into a significant concern for many schools.
Take the case of Linda Johnson, a mom whose second grader and kindergartner received a measly 10 minutes of recess twice a week. When she inquired about the limited time, the school insisted it was a district mandate. The district pointed to state guidelines, and the state? They deflected back to the district. After some digging, Linda discovered Florida only requires four hours of instruction for grades K-3 and five hours for grades 4-5, within a six-hour school day. So why no recess? The answer was simple: schools were too busy cramming in instruction to meet testing demands.
Determined to make a change, Linda and fellow mom Sarah Miller launched a petition that led to the introduction of Florida House Bill 833, aimed at mandating recess in public schools. They soon learned that the schools with the most engaged parents were the ones providing recess. Now, Linda’s kids enjoy 20 minutes of play every day, but she continues to fight for families lacking the resources or time to advocate for themselves.
Increasingly, Florida schools claim that standards and testing leave no time for kids to play. Back in January 2014, Orange County Superintendent Barbara Jenkins stated, “A mandated 20-minute period isn’t feasible for our schools right now as teachers say they don’t have enough time to cover everything.”
HB 833 would require school boards to provide students in certain grades with a minimum of 100 minutes of supervised, unstructured free-play recess each week, ensuring at least 20 consecutive minutes per day. The bill also stipulates that recess cannot be withheld for academic or punitive reasons.
All Senator Thompson has to do is allow the bill to be heard, but he won’t even entertain it. He can vote against it later, but he won’t let it get that far. This isn’t surprising given that, according to the moms, he hasn’t returned any of their emails or phone calls for weeks—months, really. They’ve traveled to Tallahassee for five consecutive weeks, spending upwards of four hours driving each way to advocate for the bill. But Thompson hasn’t bothered to engage with them, leaving them to find out through the media that their efforts had been dismissed.
Perhaps he’s forgotten that he works for them. Citizens pay his salary. “If recess is truly in high demand,” he said, “he’s unlikely to be back in 2017, leaving lawmakers to reconsider the idea then,” reported the Tampa Bay Times.
Few states mandate recess, and if you’re facing challenges at your school, let Linda’s experience serve as a lesson: vocal parents can make a difference, even if some senators like Thompson brush them off. Remember, they are elected officials, and you have the power to “fire” them at election time.
“This isn’t a time issue or a funding issue. It’s a priority issue,” Linda asserts. “Recess is vital for children’s development. Every child deserves that right to play.”
Let the kids have their fun!
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