We know all students benefit from daily recess. Why do so few receive it?
Kyrell was a student I could always count on to ask me the same question every day. “Can we have class outside today?” And I almost always had the same response. “No, not today.” He was an energetic, goofy kid who always moved a lot during class. That worked well in 7th-grade science, as every day, we had a lab or some kind of hands-on activity. But in other classes, it often got him into trouble.
The worst part for him is that there was a playground just outside my classroom window. We were in a K-8 building, but only the K-5 students got to go outside and play for daily recess. Once students made the jump from 5th to 6th grade, they were in classrooms all day. That playground was a daily frustration, taunting him.
I was thinking of Kyrell on April 15, 2025, when Gov. Mike Braun was visited by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz. The purpose: to announce a series of seven executive orders to “Make Indiana Healthy Again.” One of those orders, aimed at students, promoted farm-to-table sourcing for school lunches, launched the Governor’s Fitness Test and established School Fitness Month with incentives and rewards to get kids moving.
Encouraging exercise in young people is an excellent goal. But with all of the competing pressures schools experience, it is unlikely to happen — unless we change our laws around recess.
For the past 20 years, Indiana law has required elementary schools to provide students with daily physical activity. But that leaves out middle and high schoolers, who need physical activity just as much as elementary schoolers, as their bodies navigate growth spurts and puberty. And it doesn’t set a minimum bar for time or type. A ten-second stretch in the morning would be enough to satisfy our code.
That puts us among the majority of states with scant requirements entitling students to physical activity in school. But this is a recent development. After World War I, physical education was federally mandated alongside many state mandates. These mandates began to fade again after World War II, and alongside this decline came a rise in childhood obesity and diabetes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all schools, K-12, offer at least 20 minutes of recess a day. But only nine states have actually put a requirement into law, usually only for elementary schools. At the same time, many schools have cut recess time in favor of indoor academic instruction, preparing for high-stakes math and reading tests. Most states, including Indiana, also allow schools to withhold recess as a punishment. Recess cuts tend to be inequitable, as lower-income schools have disproportionately fewer minutes of recess than wealthier ones.
While there are many more reasons school leaders can give to cut recess — logistics, safety, academic needs — the benefits of recess for student health, well-being, and learning are overwhelming. Daily recess improves memory and attention, aiding in engagement and learning. It gives kids opportunities to learn conflict resolution skills as they navigate arguments about fairness and scores on the basketball court or the playground. It releases stress and resets their mind and body, reducing behavior issues in the classroom. And of course, it brings the benefits of physical activity — stronger hearts, lungs and muscles — at no cost. Investing in recess is a cost-benefit dream.
But restricting recess is only part of a larger issue. Kids across the country are already spending a third less time outside than they used to, with harmful impacts on physical and mental health. Equity matters here, too, as across the country, lower-income urban neighborhoods have less access to playgrounds and green spaces to accommodate engaging and safe opportunities to be outside. We are learning more clearly each day that early exposure to the outdoors makes students healthier. From playing in microorganism-rich mud to breathing biodiverse pollen, just being outside not only builds stronger bodies but also hardier immune systems. By making recess more important, we foster a love of physical activity and the outdoors that will promote outside play overall.
It’s why, finally, near the end of the school year, I decided to answer Kyrell with a “Yes!” We took our class outside. He was ecstatic, and he was engaged the entire time. But one day outdoors is a flash in the pan compared to what he deserved. If we really want to “Make Indiana Healthy Again,” let’s follow what we know with an easy, free solution.
Let’s ask our schools to protect twenty minutes of daily physical activity for all students, all ages, statewide.
Ronak Shah is a seventh-grade science teacher in Indianapolis and a Teach Plus Senior Writing Fellow.
