In an Advocacy Case Study entitled “Advocacy for Equitable Recess in Washington State,” which is being early released in Pediatrics, Dr. Pooja S. Tandon and colleagues, on behalf of the King County (Washington) Play Equity Coalition’s Advocacy Action Team, present a remarkable success story (10.1542/peds.2023-064226).
Through a community-engaged advocacy effort, the authors, in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, were able to introduce and advocate for passage of an equitable recess law in Washington State. In 2023, SB 5257, which requires at least 30 minutes of daily recess for elementary school children, and includes several recess best practices, such as not withholding recess as a punishment, was passed and signed into law. The story of their advocacy is truly inspiring, and this report offers a working template for those who would like to replicate this work in their own states.
School recess is a unique opportunity for children to engage in play and physical activity, which has been shown to promote improved behavior and cognitive functioning, lower stress, and of course support improved physical health. However, many children, particularly those in large urban schools, have very abbreviated recess time (10 minutes or less) due to scheduling or withholding as punishment, which creates additional inequity among those who most need the opportunity to play.
The starting point for this unique advocacy group, the King County Play Equity Coalition, was the publication of “State of Play: Seattle-King County,” a research report that looked broadly at access to athletics, physical activity, and play for youth in King County. The report suggested, among other recommendations, “empower[ing] schools to be a hub for physical activity,” with a specific suggestion to focus on required and state-wide standards for recess. With funding from King County Parks and the University of Washington, the Coalition invited regional stakeholders to join an effort to advance equitable access to play and physical activity for King County youth and identified equitable recess access as its chosen approach.
I encourage you to follow along in this incredible story as the Coalition works its way from defining the goal, to bringing in over 100 organizations (including teachers, parents, youth, pediatricians, and other stakeholders), to drafting a one-pager, to collaborating with professional lobbyists and advocacy experts, to attending local meetings with testimony, to anticipating opposing views with prepared materials, all the way to identifying State House and Senate sponsors for their bill. Their hard work was successful: the bill passed with bipartisan support in both chambers, was signed into law in May 2023, and will go into effect in the 2024–25 academic year. Don’t miss the “Lessons Learned” section of this advocacy article that offers much savvy advice. The Coalition now plans to support implementation and compliance with the new law, as well as its impact, and I hope they will share this work with us in a future article.
