Several states are considering requiring more time for recess, and some have already expanded the role of unstructured play, according to an article in The 74.
The push for more daily play time has been building for years. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently by published an updated policy statement about the “crucial role” of recess.
“Our recommendation is whatever time you have allocated in the day for recess occurs rain or shine, snow or no snow, heatwave or not,” says Cathy Ramstetter, co-author of the AAP policy statement.
“This is time that should not be taken away for academics or for behavioral problems,” she adds, and occurs “preferably more than once per day.”
The group is advising schools to hold recess almost without exception — and repeatedly throughout the day, if possible. Many states, including Tennessee, California, Pennsylvania and Washington, have set higher minimum requirements for recess in the last few years.
In recent decades, as the United States became more focused on standardized test scores, recess receded in favor of more instructional time, notes Debbie Rhea, a professor in kinesiology at Texas Christian University and director of the LiiNK project, a researched-based intervention for schools characterized by four 15-minute recess breaks and a character development lesson daily.
Recess is not a distraction or a break from learning, according to Rhea and other children’s health experts. During periods of unstructured play, children are developing critical social and emotional skills, making the connection between their brains and bodies, and engaging with peers.
Research has found that “breaks” for self-directed play give children more capacity to return to academic instruction and better absorb it.
“It’s rebooting their brain so they can come back to content and get back on task quickly,” says Rhea.
It may also be motivating. 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.
Birkam’s older son, now in middle school, didn’t get as much time for recess when he was in elementary school — only one period per day. The change to more recess time came last year, after a band of parents united to change Tennessee state law around recess in 2025.
The law increases minimum daily recess time from 15 to 40 minutes and requires that recess be unstructured outdoor play except for cases of extreme weather. Physical education classes don’t 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.
Recess doesn’t come at the expense of academic outcomes — it may actually bolster student performance, according to experts such as Ramstetter and Rhea.
“Recess is content,” Rhea says. “They’re learning how to play, how to adapt. [They’re learning] each other’s languages. They do a lot of learning on the playground.”
Many school districts today only provide recess in elementary school, but the AAP supports recess — or unstructured free play of some kind — for all school-aged students, not just the young ones.
“There’s great movement across the country,” Rhea says, “for more recess.”
The 74
