Ah, recess. That respite from the rigors of learning that every elementary-age kid watches the clock for. Time to unwind, get the wiggles out, play, run, and, in the best world, connect with other kids to create friendships that offset the sometimes difficult aspects of school.
Thanks to a law passed in 2023, 30-minute recess minutes are the right of every K-5 student in Washington state starting this month. Guaranteed, every student, 30 minutes, every day.
“Recess isn’t just a fun break from class; it’s an essential part of a child’s development,” Sen. T’Wina Nobles (D-Fircrest) said when Senate Bill 5257, which led to the new law, passed last year. With its passage, Washington holds one of the strongest recess laws in the nation.
“Kids are experiencing higher levels of stress and anxiety at the same time as they are more physically inactive than past generations,” said Linnea Westerlind, a parent of three Seattle Public Schools students and a volunteer with the King County Play Equity Coalition. “Ensuring kids get time to play and get exercise during the school day is a common sense measure to address youth’s physical and mental health challenges.”
Photo courtesy King County Play Equity Coalition
Recess combats stress
According to a 2020 report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 15.1% of Washington children between ages 3 and 17 had at some point been diagnosed with anxiety or depression between 2016 and 2020—significantly higher than the national average of around 11.8%. In that same period, Washington experienced a 33.6% increase in youth depression and anxiety, compared to 25.5% nationally. While the COVID pandemic was partially responsible for increased childhood anxiety, the trend continues at both the state and national levels. In fact, as of 2024, Washington is one of only 12 states that allow students to take mental health days to counter the trend.
Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called kids’ increasing mental health struggles “the defining public health crisis of our time.”
“There has never been a more important time to ensure students receive daily recess,” Tracy Myers, executive director of the King County Play Equity Coalition, said this week in a release about the recess law taking effect. “Our youth are experiencing serious mental health challenges. Recess is a smart strategy that ensures all young students receive breaks in the school day to play, socialize, and be physically active.”
The power of recess
Washington’s recess reflects national best practices on physical activity in schools and is based on extensive benefits research. According to that research, the pros of sufficient daily recess include:
- Lower cortisol levels and reduced stress/anxiety
- Better social skills and problem-solving
- Improved physical health
- Improved memory, attention, and concentration
- Improved time-on-task and reduced disruptive behavior while in the classroom
What the law aims to correct
A 2019 report by the King County Play Equity Coalition—the State of Play Report—found that only 19 percent of youth in King County regularly received 60 minutes of daily physical activity, below the national average. The Centers for Disease Control recommends 60 minutes of moderate to rigorous physical activity daily for youth ages 6-17. For many youth, school is the best or only place to receive physical activity.
This week, Dr. Nadine Chan, division director of Health Sciences at Public Health – Seattle & King County, echoed the national recommendation:
“We encourage children to get at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity daily,” Chan said in a release. “The new Washington state recess law is a game-changer, ensuring kids stay active for healthy growth and mental well-being.”
Before the passage of the recess law
According to coalition research, before the law’s passage, state elementary school students did not receive equitable recess times. The organization’s 2022 survey of 580 elementary and middle school parents across 16 counties found there were wide disparities between schools regarding the amount of recess time offered.
The coalition survey found:
- 75 percent of parents believed their child did not receive enough recess.
- The amount of elementary school recess ranged from fewer than 10 minutes to more than 50 minutes daily; 35 percent of elementary school students received 30 minutes or less of daily recess, according to parents surveyed.
- 41 percent of parents surveyed said their child’s school withheld recess; an additional 31 percent were unsure if the practice of withholding was happening at their school.
- 72 percent of elementary school parents surveyed thought students should have at least 40 minutes of recess.
“We know from research by the King County Play Equity Coalition that some kids were receiving as little as 10 or 15 minutes of recess per day, while others were receiving more than 45 minutes,” said Westerlind. “That’s not equitable or fair to kids. All kids deserve recess.” Westerlind pointed to national research showing that kids in lower-income communities and those serving primarily BIPOC students receive less recess than kids in communities that are mostly white and wealthy.
What the Washington recess law promises
According to the law that kicked into effect this month:
- Elementary school students must receive at least 30 minutes of recess on days longer than five hours.
- Recess is defined as supervised and student-directed and must be held outside whenever possible. and the use of computers, tablets or phones should be avoided.
- Schools are prohibited from using physical activity as punishment (running laps, doing push-ups).
- Schools are discouraged from withholding recess for disciplinary or academic reasons.
- Schools should encourage physical activity breaks for middle and high school.
- Schools are encouraged to hold recess before lunch in elementary school.
The law also directed the Washington State School Directors Association to create a new model policy defining elements of the law that local school boards must adopt. Recess counts as instructional minutes in Washington state public schools, so additional recess time does not require lengthening the school day. Resources for schools to ensure compliance with the new law are available at recessforwa.org.
Westerlind said Seattle Public Schools are supposed to provide at least 30 minutes of recess per day, per the district’s contract with the teachers’ union.
“However, there is no mechanism to evaluate whether that always happens, and incidences of withholding recess also occur,” she said. “This law aims to ensure all kids get recess and also raise awareness about how important recess is to a child’s school day.”
Recess counts as instructional minutes in Washington state public schools, so additional recess time does not require lengthening the school day. Resources for schools to ensure compliance with the new law are available at recessforwa.org.
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