CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Earlier this year, a group of Clarksville-Montgomery County School System moms gained a victory for elementary students by working with Tennessee lawmakers to pass a bill requiring longer recess times. Now, they are shifting their focus to middle schools.
Say Yes to Recess says they have found that only two of the eight local middle schools gave recess to meet the law of 90 minutes of physical activity a week, while only half the students at the other six schools at any given time are given P.E.
“The adult working labor law is 30 minutes break for every six hours of work,” said Morgan Garner, a founding member of Say Yes to Recess. “Middle schoolers – they’re getting less than that. Why are we holding children to a higher standard than we hold ourselves?”
Current law on middle school recess
According to Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-1021, middle schools are required to give students a minimum of 90 minutes of physical activity per full school week.
A typical school day is between six and seven hours, making a full school week between 30 and 35 hours, depending on the school. That means the daily minimum physical activity required would be 18 minutes.
There are also no requirements that physical activity include unstructured play or that it be outdoors. Additionally, there aren’t any restrictions on times when electronic devices are permitted.
According to guidance published by the Tennessee Department of Education, time spent in a physical education class (PE) can be counted toward the 90-minute minimum. Also, walking to and from class is not considered physical activity and does not meet the requirements of the law.
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Schools cannot withhold physical activity as a form of punishment for students of any grade, according to State Board of Education Policy 4.206.
According to the DoE, although schools must include their scheduled physical activity in the school-day calendar, physical activity is not currently monitored or tracked at the state level through a school’s student information system.
CMCSS middle schools self-report compliance
According to CMCSS spokesman Anthony Johnson, principals complete the Physical Activity Compliance Report for their own schools annually in the state’s ePLAN platform.
Principals either report that they are compliant or not compliant in a report that includes five categories. The report provides principals with an opportunity to identify barriers to compliance.
“Typically, MS schedules are different than HS in that they don’t have a normal ‘bell schedule’ since students typically rotate on teams in grade levels, so there could be three to six or more different schedules happening simultaneously,” Johnson said.
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In many situations, the hours are being met (exceeded) by students being in physical education during a related arts block year-round, according to Johnson. “However, in cases where students may be in other classes at that time (ex. band or choir), schools are to make accommodations to meet the 90-minute requirement.”
The Say Yes to Recess parents expressed concerns about consistency across all eight middle schools, and Johnson said CMCSS administration is addressing this with principals to ensure compliance.
Middle school recess bill in legislation
According to Garner, the new state bill they are proposing is being repurposed from the previous, House Bill 085, which amended Tennessee Code to increase recess time for elementary students. This bill would require local education agencies to increase middle school recess time from 90 minutes per full school week to a daily minimum.
“No scientist recommends a weekly minimum on physical activity,” Bush said. “They say, ‘per day,’ and schools are stacking it at the end of the week. They’re like, ‘Oh! We’ve got to get our 90 (minutes) let’s give them 45 minutes on a Friday and then trickle it throughout the week.'”
The CMCSS moms are hoping that this new bill for middle schools could be seen during the 115th General Assembly.
| PREVIOUSLY:
- Recess in schools: Moms push Clarksville-Montgomery County to offer more breaks for kids – ClarksvilleNow.com
- Recess in schools: Following push from parents, CMCSS elementaries create longer recess times – ClarksvilleNow.com
- Recess in schools: Gov. Bill Lee signs bill by CMCSS moms for 40-minute elementary recess – ClarksvilleNow.com
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