Help with recess law

Submitted by proudmaryjane t3_10pzamc in Connecticut

My son’s school keeps taking recess away from the students as a form of discipline. It’s really pissing me off because the kids get only 20 minutes of recess a day and they NEED all of that time. I found this bill online that says it’s illegal to take away recess as a form of punishment in CT schools but I can’t tell if this bill has passed. Can anyone verify what the status of this bill is? I want to verify before I contact the school (again).

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tilario t1_j6neu3c wrote

besides being bad for the kids, the school is shooting itself in the foot.

instead of letting kids go outside and blow off steam, get fresh air and generally reboot, they keep them cooped up inside where they'll get more fidgety and act up.

source: i'm a parent to two young kids.

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catbirdgrey t1_j6niy4s wrote

Yes, I'm not a parent but like, if you punish kids who act out or act up by taking away their break, their chance to utilize their energy, their time to be social, you're just going to keep getting "bad" behavior. And I feel like we should all know that kids get punished for all sorts of reason. Y'all assuming these are just violent or disrespectful kids maybe went to really good schools where you didn't get in trouble for any little thing 🤷‍♀️ I sure didn't.

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auntiemaury t1_j6nwain wrote

I'd rather pull my eyebrow hairs out one by one than have a bunch of rowdy kids NOT go outside

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katiejim t1_j6o4d28 wrote

As a former teacher, I agree. We used to let the kids (mostly boys) play basketball at lunch (high school) and then they took it away as punishment for a few kids doing something they shouldn’t. Made the post-lunch school day so much less productive. The kids who needed the basketball to get out their energy really really needed it.

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Own_Maybe_2319 t1_j6opdjb wrote

It's my understanding that recess, for elementary school aged children, is a right. Not a privilege. I received this information from an administrator in the public school system years back. Please do a Google check concerning you childrens' rights in the public school system. They vary by age so you must be specific and it's important for parents to come together and lawyer up. Also, principals are not looking out for your child's interests. They are looking out for their own career. Keep that in mind.

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DaisyBuchanan t1_j6mxt99 wrote

I know an organizer who successfully won recess rights for children in Westchester. She was an old professor of mine, I can try to connect you or explain how she did it (lots of annoying meetings with admin and connecting with other parents).

Taking away recess is cruel in my opinion. What school district?

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proudmaryjane OP t1_j6nk32o wrote

I don’t want to name it but it’s in Hartford county! My son has been here since pre-k and this is the first complaint we’ve ever had with the school district. They normally do everything right and are very progressive so it’s disappointing that I even have to look into this issue!

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DaisyBuchanan t1_j6nkxjm wrote

I would definitely set up a meeting with the teacher first, then the principal, then the super intendant if you don’t get them to stop doing this. There is SO much research showing why this is counterintuitive to getting kids to ‘behave’ and I can’t see how frustrating that seems.

Being the squeaky wheel is key! Definitely mention it to other parents casually and see what they think.

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Chubbymommy2020 t1_j6oifcr wrote

Adding to this, after going up the chain, and you get no results, try putting the school on blast on FB in parenting groups for that school and then contact the media as well as your state representative.

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Enginerdad t1_j6o1dgi wrote

I also have kids in Hartford County schools. Might you be willing to PM me the name of the school or even the town?

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One-Awareness-5818 t1_j6mwu8x wrote

It sounds like the best course is to get this bill restart or start running for your local school board position .

I support your position, I don't think kids should be punished for recess, we are already having an obesity problem

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SadAd9756 t1_j6n922a wrote

And you think recess helps with obesity? Childhood obesity IS the fault of lazy parenting!!! But I do agree with OP that recess should not be used as punishment. I also think kids should be in school ALL year round like they do in "smarter" countries, but that is just my opinion!!

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One-Awareness-5818 t1_j6nkxjc wrote

What "smart" countries have school year long?

By the way, if you only measure Connecticut with other "smart" countries on the standardized test that everyone likes to pull out of their ass, Connecticut performs up to standard and is generally in the top 30 for all the categories. It is the rest of the country that is dragging us down. Also, if adults can get an 30 min lunch break, kids should have the same right, when you take away 20 min of recess, it means you only got 20 min for lunch and then you sit quietly for another 20 min. And I have seen some bad apples abusing the recess policy, of course kids are going to be loud at lunch, it is the only time they are really allow to freely socialize in the 7 hours in school, I bet you waste more time in the bathroom or making coffee or getting water during those 7 hours because our human brains are not meant to be working for 7 hours straight.

Also, due to capitalism and 2 working parents in order to live, parents won't be home until 5/6pm and it is already dark for half of the year by that time, how do kids get any outdoor time or exercise in? Free play is good for building social skills and gross motor skills.

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maybe_little_pinch t1_j6o7pya wrote

Japan has year long schooling and they are generally considered to be pretty smart. But they also have more time that focuses on clubs and sports, so it is a little misleading. Oh and exam time. And you can get a decent job just by graduating middle school.

But I agree with exactly nothing in that person’s post. Just a note.

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paulthebackpacker t1_j6o05oj wrote

There was some neat research about a decade ago that showed if you want to increase test scores in a school, the only thing you'd have to change is the number of minutes of recess :) Schools are supposed to be research-based, simply ask for the research to back up their practice. If they can't, it's malpractice :)

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FoolsGold45 t1_j6p8qb0 wrote

The version you posted died in the Education committee last year, but was reintroduced on January 18th of this year in the same committee.

Here is the page for the Education Committee, you can see which legislators staff the committee and can contact them to express your support of the bill. You may even be able to sign up to testify on it to them if it's going to be the subject of an upcoming public hearing (not sure if it is).

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CatsNSquirrels t1_j6nl75x wrote

I hope you win. When I was a teacher more than a decade ago, in Texas, the most we ever did was make the kids sit at the side on a bench (outside, not inside) for maybe 5 minutes of recess. And then they were allowed to play with the rest of the kids. And this was only for extremely serious disciplinary problems. It was super rare.

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BookOfMakai t1_j6o3q08 wrote

My school used to do this, they’d make us sit against the wall outside. Sometimes it’d be the entire grade all sitting in silence. All I know is class was always wild once we got back inside. There isn’t a single benefit of taking recess away, it doesn’t teach kids any sort of lesson

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MBAlliance2011 t1_j6nxg61 wrote

Any comments defending this practice are coming from people without kids.

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Klutzy_Meat_4291 t1_j6o1oj7 wrote

This has also been happening at my son's school and it's very frustrating. He's a high energy kid and needs the release during the day. I guess I have to look into their policy on it...

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kesagatame-and-Chill t1_j6od9hx wrote

Have you spoken to your kids about their behavior? Have you spoken to the teachers and administrators about this decision? Have you gone to a school board meeting and made your concerns heard? Just curious. We recently had a similar situation where I live, I asked my kid about it and he admitted that the kids in the situation are extremely disruptive. Two sides to every story.

My impulse is to always talk to the adults first, get their perspective and go from there.

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newmoon23 t1_j6okuva wrote

Kids are often disruptive when they have pent up energy or need a break. Taking away their only opportunity to get that is just asking for them to be more disruptive.

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kesagatame-and-Chill t1_j6om0tf wrote

Or maybe they are kids who need their behavior addressed by their parents; I know that sounds crazy because everyone's child is a precious snowflake.

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newmoon23 t1_j6opo9r wrote

Look, some disruptive kids do have genuine issues with inattentive parents. But the majority of the time it's just kids being kids and needing an outlet to release their energy. Taking that option away does absolutely NOTHING to help the issues but rather makes them worse.

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kesagatame-and-Chill t1_j6osa9z wrote

It is always possible that your kid was in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the majority of the time, it is the kids. If not your kid directly, the company they keep. You can only find this out if you talk to the educators and adults there. If your kid is not in the wrong, you should all work it out as adults. They will want that.

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newmoon23 t1_j6ow51y wrote

Wrong place at the wrong time? We are talking about minor disciplinary issues, like speaking out of turn, being distracting, etc. These are not bad kids, and these issues don't mean they have bad parents or role models. it's normal child behavior. Punishing normal child behavior by taking away their one outlet to blow off steam during the day is just asking for more issues. It is completely counter-productive and frankly, stupid.

No one is saying "don't punish bad behavior." we are simply saying that this particular punishment doesn't work and is in fact making things worse.

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kesagatame-and-Chill t1_j6p257t wrote

Are you sure that is the reason? If so, I agree that the punishment doesn't fit the infraction. I think there is something more.

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newmoon23 t1_j6p40f9 wrote

OP said it herself. So you can think whatever you want but you’re not basing it on the information given to you.

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kesagatame-and-Chill t1_j6p1xjo wrote

Do you have evidence of this? Something like this must go through school administration, and people who are experts in the field.

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1984isnowpleb t1_j6oruz4 wrote

Shove kids in a room all day and wonder why they can’t pay attention and act out? I’m shocked 🙄

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GoOnNoMeatNoPudding t1_j6o56q1 wrote

Not sure if it’s illegal.

But I agree that recess shouldn’t be taken away.

Talk to the school. If he needs punishment; ask for lunch detentions. I preferred those ;)

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essaitchthrowaway3 t1_j6n9p1z wrote

Maybe, just maybe, you should be more concerned as to why the kids are so out of control that the teachers and administration feels the need to take their recess away to begin with.

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proudmaryjane OP t1_j6niy8x wrote

It is taken away when kids speak out of turn or are too loud at lunch. To me personally, that shouldn’t warrant them taking away their only chance to get fresh air and sometimes exercise that day. Also - it doesn’t work. Every single day at least one child (sometimes the whole class) gets recess taken away. If it was an effective form of punishment, it would work - but it doesn’t. It keeps happening…because kids need to jump around, play, talk and be loud! They need time to be KIDS.

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CatsNSquirrels t1_j6nll04 wrote

Have you ever been a teacher? I have. Kids come from all sorts of backgrounds, and there are a variety of ways to discipline them. Taking away recess is not an appropriate disciplinary tool.

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[deleted] t1_j6ndnpb wrote

[deleted]

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CalligrapherDizzy201 t1_j6pjzru wrote

Do these kids not get outside in the 18 hours per day they are not in school? Surely they don’t get only 20 minutes out of the entire day to relax, right?

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essaitchthrowaway3 t1_j6ngn8v wrote

No one WANTS to take recess away from kids. But seeing as how parenting isn't being done at home, and schools have very limited ways to punish kids otherwise, it seems like a very reasonable way to handle this situation. As is almost always the case, be a goddamn fucken adult, and parent your crotch fruit.

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CiforDayZServer t1_j6o4xrl wrote

lol, what’s up douche bag.

Children’s brains haven’t developed enough for deprivation of privileges to be an effective punishment. Further, group punishment for the acts of individuals is a breeding ground for bullying and group think… they’re bad techniques… it’s been proven for decades… sounds like your parents failed you.

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CiforDayZServer t1_j6o49f9 wrote

Yeah, or, maybe, JUST maybe, this is an old outdated disciplinary technique that has been proven to be entirely counter productive… and maybe… JUST maybe, you’re defending those outdated techniques because ‘I had it worse and turned out just fine’.

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essaitchthrowaway3 t1_j6o8ytx wrote

Maybe, just maybe if kids actually behaved because the parents weren't too lazy to do some adulting, this would be a non-issue.

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CiforDayZServer t1_j6os849 wrote

lol you’re such an insufferable codger, fuck all the way off.

Perfect solution… Magic wand wave at the strawman everybody!!!

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essaitchthrowaway3 t1_j6ov1iu wrote

Look everybody, I found the incompetent parent who is too lazy to raise his kids properly and needs to pawn that off on the school system because lord knows teachers don't have enough other things to worry about.

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CiforDayZServer t1_j6pjqva wrote

Actually dumbass, both my kids are out of public school, and the reason I think group punishment for individual problem children is oblivious and accomplishes nothing because the good kids don’t have influence over the bad kids, beyond that, children shouldn’t be pressured into hazing tactics against their school mates by an administration too lazy to properly approach correcting the problem children’s behaviors which could be caused by a litany of issues… not just ‘bad parents’… which is a pretty aggressive description considering that LOTS of those ‘bad parents’ are working 2 or 3 jobs trying to make ends meet for their family in a state with very limited support systems besides the public school system… you dumb fucking clown.

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phunky_1 t1_j6nd533 wrote

Exactly...

Let's blame the school department for using what little leverage they have to try to correct bad behavior.

It can't be the kids' own fault for not meeting behavior expectations in class.

Teach your kids to behave in school and they wouldn't get recess taken away.

Now what shouldn't be allowed is if a few kids acting up results in recess being cancelled for the entire class. Make just those kids go spend recess in the principals office.

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FallGuysStats t1_j6nbpbi wrote

Seriously. Do a little parenting. NO recess if your kid is bad.

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newmoon23 t1_j6oklvy wrote

“You misbehaved so here is a punishment that will cause you to misbehave more.”

Idiocy.

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welcomebackjelly t1_j6nybg5 wrote

Lol this may sound crazy but it seems like a more effective punishment would be to make the kids run sprints or do push-ups or something. That way you take away the socialization as punishment, but still allow them to get exercise and blow off steam.

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bbpr120 t1_j6o73mf wrote

If you wanna get sued for violating State law, sure go for it.

It's covered under Sec 10-221u- physical activity cannot be used as a form of discipline from grades K-12. It's viewed as a form of corporal punishment.

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AdHistorical7107 t1_j6o8t8o wrote

They need to bring back the spanking with a ruler. That always did the trick

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TriStateGirl t1_j6oy68v wrote

Call DCF. They can sort this all out. Or maybe just the state.

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