Nevertheless, the new law does not give districts any direction on how to implement the break time, only that it must be done; Charter schools are exempt. For years, parents in Florida have expressed concern that their children don`t have enough time for recess. Florida lawmakers weren`t playing when they said kids were getting more rest this year. State law already guaranteed students 30 minutes of physical education per day. Some schools would combine physical education and recess or exchange both. A break of just 20 minutes may not seem like much time, but going back and forth to students and calming them down can take a while in the end, Rodriguez said. Local and state groups have sprung up across Florida, rallying and urging lawmakers to make the pause a requirement. The 100-minute break is in addition to the 150 minutes of physical education required each week. The 100-minute break is defined as supervised, safe and unstructured free play. The 150 minutes of physical education are class times based on standards.
The logistics of implementing the break requirement are determined by each local school district. This includes, but is not limited to, the development of master plans, the designation of rooms to be used for recess, and the establishment of weather guidelines to ensure the safety of students. This law does not specify where a break must be provided. Break minutes may be provided indoors or outdoors as determined by the local school district and/or school principal. Glendale tried to plan natural breaks for students so as not to disrupt their classroom dynamics, Faust said. At the same time, schools need to pay attention to the fact that teachers have to change their break time in the blink of an eye because of classes, he said. Those efforts nearly worked in 2016, but a bill calling for a unified nationwide disruptive policy died in an education subcommittee. With almost a full hour now locked for time outside of study between break and physical education, many schools choose to save each school subject a few minutes to ensure that not too much time is taken up on a single content area. Planning breaks, finding space and developing a weather emergency plan will be left to the boroughs, Hershel Lyons, chancellor of public schools, said in a July 14 letter to superintendents. The state leaves logistics such as location and planning to school districts. And Tampa Bay area district chiefs convey those decisions and leave the details to individual schools.
This worries some parents, who fear that principals – some of whom were reluctant to introduce recess – will choose to take them indoors to better fit their schedules. That would contradict the spirit of their struggle to give students more freedom to play outside, they say. This year, Pinellas, in collaboration with Hernando, will ensure that each primary school presents a master plan with a break time. All the state requires is a « certificate of fidelity to the implementation of recess » signed by the superintendent of each school district. Pinella Superintendent Mike Grego signed the form earlier this month. In Martin County, 11 elementary schools are starting 10 minutes earlier this school year to prepare for the mandatory break. Pinellas` directive for last year required elementary schools to include at least 20 minutes of rest or physical activity on days without physical education. Some schools went even further by holding unstructured outdoor breaks every day, while others did the bare minimum, opting for teacher-led classroom activities on certain days.
The weekly 100-minute break must be supervised, safe and unstructured, Lyons wrote. A well-supervised recess promotes students` social, emotional, physical and cognitive development, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, cited in the 2017 break bill analysis. The Florida Department of Education this month issued guidance to school districts on the new law, which does not apply to charter schools. He clarified that the law does not specify where breaks must be scheduled and that they can be spent indoors or outdoors. Students at his school had a break last year, but the schedule had to be changed to make sure the playgrounds weren`t crowded, Faust said. Just like reading, math and science, recess is now part of everyday life in Florida`s traditional public elementary schools, starting with classes starting over the next two weeks. A comprehensive education bill that went into effect this summer has multiple terms, including a parent across the state — particularly in Pinellas County — had lobbied for 20 consecutive minutes of free play break each day for students from kindergarten through fifth grade. Regulating breaks for kindergarten through fifth grade was incorporated into the massive education bill lawmakers passed this spring, along with expanding teacher bonuses and the controversial Schools of Hope program. Cox said she was concerned that some principals would choose to hold recess indoors only, « but if you just look at the wording of the law, it must be an unstructured game. » Bond was one of several Pinellas parents who recently lobbied for a statewide recess mandate, arguing that a county-level policy for the 2016-17 school year didn`t go far enough to ensure schools allowed enough time to play freely and engage in physical activity.
She says her 7-year-old son, Ethan, had only a few five-minute « health breaks » a day at Pasadena Fundamental Elementary. « The key is that students should have a choice, » Cox said. « And I think that`s what`s really important for breakup moms, that the choice is involved in the break. » « That`s the role of the state in education, » said Julia Nemiroff, a mother from Martin County. « Say, `Take a step back and give students some free time to regroup during the day.` It is absurd that they have the option of not taking a break. Stephanie Cox, a mother at Shore Acres Elementary School who led the recess efforts in Tallahassee, echoed Rafalski`s feelings about the importance of letting students decide how to spend their free time. But only 11 of Florida`s 67 school districts had written pause policies in 2015-16, according to the analysis. « It`s just not the same quality as an outdoor break, » she said. Section 1003.455, Florida Statutes, was revised during the 2017 legislature to include a state requirement for recreation. Starting in the 2017-2018 school year, students in kindergarten to Grade 5 must have 100 minutes of unstructured free break each week, so that there are at least 20 consecutive minutes each day. Charter schools and full-time virtual students are exempt from the break requirement. Still, Faust said, the break requirement isn`t a big change for his school.
Pinellas was one of the last school districts in the area to move to allow time for recess. Prior to 2016-17, the county used the full 150 minutes the state needed each week for physical education classes, while other counties such as Hillsborough spent only 60 minutes a week on physical education and left the rest of the time to a teacher, usually for recess. Many schools in Pasco and Hernando counties have also made time for traditional breaks. However, these counties have longer school days than Pinellas, so more time for recess fits into their schedules. As a result, school leaders are under more pressure, said Vicki Rodriguez, president of the St. Lucie County Classroom Teachers Association. « We are not giving guidelines on what should happen during this period, » said Shana Rafalski, executive director of primary education at Pinellas. School starts on Monday. The district serves more than 19,000 students, and these students are headed by about 1,100 teachers. « I think it will benefit our kids and give teachers the opportunity to get up and move around more often, » Faust said.