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As another school year gets underway, several states are considering whether to give students more time for recess, and some have already expanded the role of unstructured play in a child鈥檚 school day. 

The momentum around recess has been building for years, with experts raising awareness about the importance of preserving time for daily play as well as grassroots efforts from parents across the country. 

Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics added to the chorus by publishing an updated about the 鈥渃rucial role鈥� of recess. 

鈥淥ur recommendation is whatever time you have allocated in the day for recess occurs rain or shine, snow or no snow, heatwave or not,鈥� said Cathy Ramstetter, co-author of the AAP policy statement and author of the book 鈥淲hy Recess Matters: The Importance of Unstructured Play and How to Fight For it,鈥� which came out in August. 

鈥淭his is time that should not be taken away for academics or for behavioral problems,鈥� she added, and occurs 鈥減referably more than once per day.鈥�

In other words, the AAP is advising that schools hold recess almost without exception 鈥� and repeatedly throughout the day, if possible. It sounds like a proposal written by kids themselves, but in fact it is supported by peer-reviewed research studies. 

And many states are taking notice. , , and are among the states that have set higher minimum requirements for recess in the last few years. Advocates in a slew of other states are working toward joining them soon. 

Recess was once an integral part of the American school experience, as it was and remains in most every other country in the world, said Ramstetter. However, in recent decades, as the United States became more focused on standardized test scores, recess was sidelined in favor of more instructional time, noted Debbie Rhea, a professor in kinesiology at Texas Christian University and director of the LiiNK project, a researched-based for schools characterized by four 15-minute recess breaks and a character development lesson daily.

Rhea took a sabbatical in Finland in 2012, where she said she spent time trying to understand their education system. One thing she noticed was that they were giving kids recess after every hour of academic learning. As she dug in deeper, Rhea learned the Finns actually borrowed this strategy from an approach they had observed in American schools in the 1960s.聽

鈥淲e quit doing what we were doing because testing became so important,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are now sitting [children] down for hours at a time. We鈥檙e killing the spirit of our kids.鈥�

鈥淚t is the child鈥檚 place to play,鈥� she added. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what children are supposed to do.鈥�

What Rhea and other children鈥檚 health experts have found is that recess is not a distraction or a break from learning. During periods of , children are learning plenty 鈥� developing critical social and emotional skills, fine-tuning the connection between their brains and bodies, and engaging with their peers. 

Moreover, research has found that those 鈥渂reaks鈥� for self-directed play give children to return to academic instruction and better absorb it. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 rebooting their brain so they can come back to content and get back on task quickly,鈥� Rhea said of the unstructured play time that defines recess. 

It may also be incredibly motivating for children. Erin Birkam, the parent of two children in Clarksville, Tennessee, said her younger son, now in first grade, views each of his two daily recess breaks as a reward for focusing during academic learning. 

鈥淚f he knows he has two 20-minute blocks, he can get through the academic part because he has that to look forward to,鈥� Birkam said, noting it helps that one break is in the morning and the other in the afternoon. 

Birkam鈥檚 older son, now in middle school, didn鈥檛 get as much time for recess when he was in elementary school, and he only got one period per day. 

The change came only last year, after a band of parents united to change Tennessee state law around recess. 

Kathryn Truman, a mom of four in Clarksville, Tennessee, led the effort. 

Truman鈥檚 first child had spent his years leading up to kindergarten playing outside 鈥渁ll day,鈥� she said. She was stunned when she got his schedule for kindergarten and it listed only 20 minutes of daily recess. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥楾his had to be a mistake. It had to be a joke,鈥欌�� she said. 

When she realized it was neither, she began going through the traditional channels, trying to spark a change. She talked to the principal. She found other parents who were similarly alarmed by the fact that kindergarteners got just 20 minutes of recess but 120 minutes of reading instruction, as she recalled. (State law, at the time, required a minimum of 15 minutes per day.) They spoke at a school board meeting and met with the superintendent. The district鈥檚 solution was to increase elementary school recess allotment to 30 minutes for the next school year. Truman and her counterparts were not satisfied. 

She remembers someone on district staff telling her, 鈥淚f you want any more, you鈥檇 have to change the state law,鈥� then laughing openly at the idea. But it galvanized Truman and other parents in the district. They found like-minded parents across Tennessee, including one mom on the eastern end of the state who said her children were getting only 15 minutes of recess three days a week 鈥� and it was right before the buses came for pickup at 3 p.m.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want to just be whiny parents forcing our way on educators and the law,鈥� Truman said. 鈥淲e wanted it to be a collaborative movement.鈥�

Truman can remember sitting around her kitchen table with other parents, hoping aloud that they could change state law in the next three to five years. But the bill 鈥� which initially included 60 minutes of daily recess but was later amended to 40 minutes 鈥� got the in May 2025, less than a year later. 

The law, in addition to increasing minimum daily recess time from 15 to 40 minutes, requires that recess be unstructured outdoor play except for cases of extreme weather. Physical education classes don鈥檛 count toward recess time, and screen time is not permitted during it. The law also prohibits withholding recess from a child as a form of punishment or discipline. 

Truman achieved much of what she鈥檇 set out to do but said she鈥檚 鈥渃oming back鈥� to push for the full 60 minutes of daily recess, noting it should become the 鈥渘ational standard.鈥�

Once the bill passed in Tennessee, word got around to other states, and parents began getting in touch with , a nonprofit advocacy organization that Truman founded in early 2025 and leads. 

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want those parents to have to start at square one like we did,鈥� Truman said. 

A Texas chapter came first, but others quickly followed. Now the group has scaled to more than 20 states across the country.

During the past legislative session, Say Yes to Recess led bills in , and , Truman said. Only the one in Michigan remains active, but Truman said the other two chapters will 鈥渁bsolutely try again.鈥� 

The 2025-26 school year was the first time Tennessee schools offered students at least 40 minutes of daily recess. It was a big win when, this summer, the state the results of its standardized test, showing academic gains statewide the same year. 

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think recess hurt anything,鈥� Truman said. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 negatively impact anything.鈥�

That鈥檚 what children鈥檚 health experts like Ramstetter and Rhea have been saying for years: Recess doesn鈥檛 come at the expense of academic outcomes. In fact, recess may actually bolster student performance.

鈥淩ecess is content,鈥� Rhea said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e learning how to play, how to adapt. [They鈥檙e learning] each other鈥檚 languages. They do a lot of learning on the playground.鈥�

Ramstetter, the book author who helped write the AAP policy statement, offered a comparison to adults. When adults are learning something new and get stuck, they take a break. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 because our brains need that time to consolidate memory and information,鈥� she said, adding that the same thing happens at night when we sleep. This is true for kids and adolescents as well.

Even though plenty of school districts today only provide recess in elementary school, Ramstetter noted that the process she described of memory consolidation 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 stop when you鈥檙e 12 or when you鈥檙e 10鈥� years old. Again, even adults continue to do it. The AAP supports recess 鈥� or unstructured free play of some kind 鈥� for all school-aged students, not just the young ones.  

In Tennessee, where the new law only applies to elementary school students, teachers and parents say it鈥檚 made a difference. For Birkam鈥檚 first grader, recess is the highlight of his day. 

鈥淲hat he wants to talk about, after school, is recess,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e wants to talk about the friends he made and what he played.鈥�

If Truman and her allies have their way, more students across the United States will soon be able to return home from school each day saying the same. 

鈥淭here鈥檚 great movement across the country,鈥� Rhea said, 鈥渇or more recess.鈥�

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