CLARKSVILLE, TN — After two years of advocating for change, a group of Clarksville-Montgomery County School System moms has seen their efforts bear fruit: elementary school students will now receive 40 minutes of unstructured, screen-free recess each day.
Gov. Bill Lee met with five “Say Yes to Recess” moms on Tuesday before signing legislation requiring more recess time.
“It’s inspiring, but more than anything, I’m thrilled that my children have seen it,” said Morgan Garner, a CMCSS mother and Say Yes to Recess member. “It’s more than just minutes to me. It’s the fact that everyone involved saw this as a necessary change and rallied around the idea of more recess.”
Start of ‘Say Yes to Recess’
Garner noticed problems with her third-grade daughter’s behavior in 2023, including high stress and uncontrollable energy that seemed to worsen on rainy days.
A little investigation revealed that Garner’s daughter was only receiving about 15 minutes of recess per day, which included walking students to and from the playground, retrieving coats in classrooms, and putting lunchboxes away after lunch. What happens on rainy days? They would sit in the classroom and either play a game or use the computer.
As Garner dug deeper into current state law and research, she met Rachel Bush, who was experiencing similar issues with her children. Together, they formed a Facebook group and petition to urge the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System to prioritize recess.
CMCSS extends recess time
In 2024, the moms began to see the results of their efforts, as their Facebook group and petition received an outpouring of support from other parents.
That year, with the help of Kathryn Truman, a fellow CMCSS mom, they founded Say Yes to Recess Tennessee, a Facebook group that drew support from parents across the state.
In July 2024, CMCSS collaborated with recess moms to approve a 30-minute increase in elementary recess time per day. This new change went into effect during the 2024-25 school year.
While Garner, Bush, and Truman were pleased with this new development, they were not completely satisfied, and their work was far from finished.
Recess bill blazes through legislation
This year brought about the change that Say Yes to Recess had been hoping for. Following months of collaboration with legislators, a bill was introduced that would require local education agencies to increase recess time from 130 minutes per full school week to 40 minutes per school day.
In April, the bill passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate with nearly unanimous votes, and Lee signed it into law on May 27.
With the current legislation in place, the Say Yes group has turned its attention to middle school. Earlier this year, the group became a nonprofit, and 12 states have contacted Garner to discuss starting their own movement.
“We have established chapters in six other states across the country,” Truman informed the audience. “This legislation represents a shift in how we as parents prioritize our children’s needs. A good education is balanced and addresses the needs of both the mind and the body as a whole.
“Something that started in little old Montgomery County has sparked into a nationwide movement,” Garner told the crowd. “And we are so excited to be part of it.”
