Should middle schoolers have recess? New Hampshire bill looks to expand outdoor time.

Recess is a time full of imagination and wonder for elementary school students, and a new bill in New Hampshire seeks to expand it to middle school students. 

The bill, called "Say Yes to Recess," would allow outdoor time to count as instructional time in schools. It would not replace physical education. 

"It's meant to establish recess as a foundational part of the school day in New Hampshire," said Nashua mother Chelsey Marvin. "Research does show that having that break time, that unstructured outdoor play allows you to really soak in that information that you've been given in the classroom."

Marvin explained that parents have been seeing their children's recess being taken away as a punishment. 

Ellen Grudzien founded a pre-school that prioritized outdoor enrichment and said that time spent outdoors is crucial, even for older children. 

"We are talking 11 to 14-year-olds whose bodies are growing; they don't understand a lot of that. It could be a wall, it could be a place in the woods that a teacher takes their kids," Grudzien said. 

But critics are concerned that schools lack adequate staffing and resources to supervise any additional recess time. 

"Recess requires adult supervision, and if you can't provide that, what you're doing is giving kids unstructured time, and particularly in elementary school, those unstructured times are where you have the most conflicts and the most bullying going on," said Deb Howes, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

The new bill would also prohibit the use of electronic devices during recesses.

"Getting kids outside is mental health, we know that as adults. The more time we spend in nature, the better we feel," said Grudzien.