Parents ask Henrico board to adopt 45 minutes of daily elementary recess
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Summary
A parent group called Parents for More Play asked the Henrico County School Board on June 12 to adopt a minimum of 45 minutes daily recess for elementary students, citing research and Virginia law and submitting a petition with more than 500 signatures.
At the Henrico County School Board meeting on June 12, parent advocate Jen Hymes, speaking for Parents for More Play, urged the board to adopt a minimum of 45 minutes of daily recess for elementary students and emphasized outdoor, unstructured play when possible.
Hymes, a parent from the Tuckahoe District, said recess "is not a luxury. It is a fundamental need for every child's academic, social, emotional, and physical development," and asked the board to "adopt a minimum of 45 minutes of daily recess for elementary schools with an emphasis on outdoor free play and engaging device free indoor alternatives."
She cited state guidance on instructional hours and recess, telling the board: "Virginia state law states that recess may be included in the calculation of required instructional hours for elementary school provided that it does not exceed 15% of the required instructional hours. In Henrico's 6 and a half hour school day, that would be about 58 minutes per day." Hymes also noted that other Virginia counties such as Loudoun, Fairfax, Prince William, Suffolk, Norfolk, Shenandoah and Hanover have increased elementary recess blocks; she said Hanover recently extended its elementary recess from 30 minutes to 40 minutes.
Hymes said Parents for More Play submitted a petition with over 500 signatures and provided the board a copy of Hanover County's document on recess extension as a reference. Her request was made during the public forum; the board did not take action on the request during the meeting.
Why it matters: Speakers said expanded recess supports cognitive performance, classroom behavior and social development and urged the division to make device-free options available for indoor days. The parent's petition and comparative examples from nearby counties aim to give the board concrete models for implementation.
No formal motion or vote on recess policy occurred at the June 12 meeting. The division’s public forum process notes that staff will follow up with speakers who presented comments at the meeting.