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House education committee advances bill to expand elementary recess to 40 minutes a day
Summary
The House Education Committee voted 17-1 to advance House Bill 85, which would increase the daily elementary recess requirement from the current statutory minimum to 40 minutes per day. Supporters cited physical and academic benefits; opponents warned of lost instructional time and impacts on specials such as music and art.
The Tennessee House Education Committee on Tuesday advanced House Bill 85, a proposal to change the statutory elementary recess requirement from the current minimum to 40 minutes a day, voting 17-1 to send the bill to calendar and rules.
Proponents said expanded daily recess would improve students’ physical health and classroom readiness. Bob Eby, identifying himself as a Roane County citizen and former State Board of Education chair, told the committee his lifelong exercise routine helped him avoid heart disease and urged the committee to “please say yes to recess.” Morgan Garner, a student and organizer with Say Yes to Recess, said, “More instructional time does not equal more learning,” and argued that unstructured play builds social skills and emotional regulation separate from physical education.
The bill, as amended during the hearing, would replace the panel’s reference to the current 15-minute minimum with a 40-minute daily requirement. The sponsor’s summary noted the change from “15 minutes a day, 130 a week” to the proposed daily figure. Supporters pointed to research cited in testimony — including a long-term study known as the LINC project — that they said showed physical activity improves retention, reduces nurse visits and helps classroom behavior. Opponents, including Robert Gowen representing the Coalition of Large School Systems and the Tennessee Music Education Association, warned the additional recess time would remove “almost three hours each week” from the school day after accounting for travel to the playground and risk cutting interventions, special-education time and arts instruction.
Committee members pressed on logistics and equity. Representative Glenn and others said some districts already can schedule 30 minutes but that 40 minutes could be difficult without altering the school day or reallocating other required instructional blocks. Representative Raper, a former principal, noted the state’s current instructional-minute mandates for core subjects and said many districts are already short on time for science and social studies.
Supporters said implementation models exist: a witness described a county that moved recess from 20 to 30 minutes and reported positive effects on student engagement, and examples were cited of schools that use two shorter recess periods to avoid cutting core instruction. The committee heard from multiple educators that recess and PE serve distinct roles: PE focuses on skills and fitness, while recess supports social development.
After public and legislative discussion, the committee adopted the amendment and voted to advance HB 85. The bill now moves to calendar and rules.
