TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Florida schools would be required to let children out each day for recess under a bill now moving in the state Legislature.
A Senate panel approved a bill (SB 78) Tuesday that would require elementary schools to set aside 20 minutes each day for "free-play recess."
For the past two years mothers of school children have lobbied for the change. They say children need recess to expend energy and give them a break from schoolwork.
Last year a similar bill was approved by the House but the Senate never considered it because a top senator opposed it.
A Senate analysis of the bill found 11 out of the state's 67 school districts had an approved recess policy. But those districts varied in how much time was set aside for recess.
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