Three third graders stepped up to the podium at a recent Cobb County Board of Education meeting. It was intimidating — they needed a step stool to reach the mic, and were facing a two-minute timer that seemed to move faster than a normal clock.

But Berkley Carter, Daphne Murray and June Simmons were on a mission. They had kids counting on them. They call themselves the Recess Rangers for a reason.

“Today we are here to tell you why kids should have longer recess,” they said. “Longer recess will help our and other schools grow.”

They told the school board about their research into the benefits of recess, the input they got from students and teachers at their school and the cost (free).

The experience was nerve-wracking for the 8- and 9-year-olds.

“We should have had a little recess break before that,” June said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

That’s what they like the most about recess. Playing kickball or tag is a chance to expel some energy or to get out their frustrations when they are having a hard time in class.

Daphne remembers a time when a teacher told her she should be more like her older brother, and how recess helped her get over her frustration from that. June remembers a time that she tried to draw something for an assignment over and over again, and recess helped her calm down after getting upset.

This all started as a class project. They had to research something that would help their school grow, and they chose longer recess times and gave the same speech to their class.

Recess is credited with helping students increase their level of physical activity, improve their memory, attention and concentration, stay on task, reduce disruptive behavior and improve their social and emotional development, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the early 2000s, when the federal No Child Left Behind Act was focused on improving student test scores, recess was shortened or cut entirely at schools across the U.S.

“Now I look at it as a very important part of the day,” Daphne said.

June agreed: “Before, it was just a time to be goofy and fun, but now I feel like it’s really serious. I have to have recess.”

Georgia started requiring daily recess for elementary students and unstructured break time for students through the eighth grade in 2022. In Cobb County, principals get to decide recess time for elementary students, and middle schoolers get their unstructured breaks during class changes.

Berkley, Daphne and June said they usually get about 15 minutes of recess time — but they noticed that some days were shorter than others, with no explanation. Several national organizations recommend at least 20 minutes of recess each day.

“It felt like they were lying to your face about recess and it was unfair to us,” Berkley said.

The AJC requested to speak with the principal of Smyrna Elementary and the students’ teacher, but a district spokesperson declined to facilitate any interviews. The spokesperson also did not answer questions about recess times.

After the trio spoke at the meeting, they heard back from board member Becky Sayler. She commended them for their presentation, but let them know the school board doesn’t control recess. The administrative rule related to break times in schools was last updated in July.

“I know, as a teacher myself, how difficult it can be to be sure we get through the necessary standards but still have enough time to give our brains the recharging time that unstructured play allows,” Sayler wrote to the students. “I urge you to make this same presentation to your principal. I’d love to hear how it goes!”

The students said they do want to talk to their principal, and possibly principals at other schools. But after their presentation in class and to the board, their teacher was very proud of them — and they’ve noticed their recess is closer to 25 minutes long these days.

The Recess Rangers said their research suggests 45 minutes would be the ideal amount of time.

Among the education deregulation policies prioritized by Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo during a committee meeting Wednesday is one that may change the way schools offer recess to students.

One part of a likely to be considered during the 2024 legislative session would mandate that schools provide 100 minutes of recess over a week rather than the existing mandate of 20 minutes every day.

Sen. Corey Simon, chair of the Education Pre-K committee, said that although districts would still need to see that students receive the full 100 minutes of recess a week, the reform would give greater flexibility to districts. Some, the senator said, provide half-days or have other circumstances that make it difficult to mandate some programs daily.

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“[The bill] doesn’t do away with the requirement,” Simon said. “All this does is push it down to the district so that you all can sit down with your superintendent, and you can sit down with your school board, and have that discussion.”

Other reforms on the table include streamlining teacher certification and training, removal of policies mandating school boards provide economic security and district guidance reports to parents, and removal of the requirement that each school district offer summer voluntary prekindergarten.

The recess initiative drew several dissents during the public comment potion of the committee meeting. Angie Gallo, an Orange County School Board member, was among the who, in 2017, successfully lobbied for the 20 minutes a day mandate.

Gallo told the committee that while she understood wanting to give the districts flexibility, she wasn’t confident they would do the right thing.

“​​This is a wonderful bill. We just implore you to please, please, leave the mandate alone,” Gallo said. “What you’re doing will really make the mandate useless.”

Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, said that while the trio of bills had a mixed bag of policies he supported, he agreed that the state needs to return power to the school districts.

“School districts should not be run from Tallahassee,” Spar said. “I think the Department of Education has too much influence on school districts, which interferes with what parents want to see.”

Kids need recess time, Spar said, but districts should have more autonomy over the programs the state mandates they carve out time for — such as physical education, math instruction, and independent reading.

The committee unanimously passed along the bill containing the recess reform on Wednesday.

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