Can Schools Take Away Recess as Punishment?

Can the school take away my child’s recess? They withhold his recess as punishment! Can teachers take away recess?

If you found yourself saying these things, you’re not alone.

Should teachers be taking away recess as punishment? No! But, no that teachers rarely act in solace–the school principal sets the tone for the building. It’s a common complaint that I hear. And every single time I see it, I roll my eyes and shake my head.

Let’s put an end to this “taking away recess as punishment” trend once and for all!

For clarification purposes, this is mostly a special needs blog. So I am referring mostly to kids with IEPs and will give you tips on how to put this in your IEP. But, I acknowledge that this happens to lots of kids.

If your kid doesn’t have an IEP or 504, I would still recommend that you push for this. Though technically if your child is not identified as having a disability, you won’t have as many protections. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try!

Is taking away recess illegal?

Short answer-maybe. Some states have begun to mandate recess for kids, but there are not many. Do an internet search to see what your state says about it.

Even so, printing off the law and angrily pointing to it and showing it to teachers and administrators is not an effective advocacy tactic, in my opinion.

Whether taking away recess is legal depends on state laws, district policies, and federal protections under IDEA and Section 504. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Federal Law (IDEA & Section 504): If a child has an IEP or 504 Plan, removing recess as a punishment could violate their right to FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education), especially if recess is written into their accommodations or supports.
2. State Laws: Some states explicitly protect recess, stating that it cannot be taken away as a punishment. Others leave it up to local districts.
3. District Policies: Many school districts have policies that prohibit using recess as a disciplinary tool, but enforcement varies. This will answer the question “are teachers allowed to take away recess?” because some districts may allow it. However a district policy cannot supersede an IEP or state/federal laws.
4. Best Practices: Experts (including the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics) discourage withholding recess because it negatively impacts behavior and learning.

What You Can Do:

• Check your state and district policies.
• If recess is in your child’s IEP or 504 Plan, request a meeting to ensure it’s protected.
• Push for positive behavior supports instead of punitive measures.

You need to create an environment and philosophy change within your IEP team and within your school. That is a lot of work, no doubt. But society is really starting to swing the other way in this, so you will have no problems finding evidence to support your view.

Reasons that Schools Prohibit a Child from Going to Recess

First, let’s look at the reasons given to taking away recess.

• punishment because the child displayed an undesirable behavior
• has to stay in and complete assignments that he/she was unable to do in the time frame given to the class
• the playground is not accessible to your child
• no aide or 1:1 available over lunch hours to accompany your child outside
• the child is frequently bullied or excluded during recess, so kept inside where he/she is safe(r)
• The school keeps taking away my child’s recess as punishment or to make up work.

The main reason that I hate recess being taken away is the underlying message it sends, which I think is: “Look, we know that the rest of your school day is craptastic, and the one escape time that you have to relax is recess, so we’re going to take that from you.” It inherently tells kids that “recess is the most desirable part of the school day.” Am I right? Why not send the message that all learning is fun?

It also sends the message that play/recess has no value, and therefore, it doesn’t matter if we take it from you. No harm, no foul.

That couldn’t be further from the truth! So if you are talking with your IEP team about getting this in your IEP, that’s a good starting point. Win them over to the value of play. I mean, if you have a kid who is struggling with social skills, why would you take away the one half-hour of the day that he gets to freely practice his social skills?

Taking Away Recess

Taking away a child’s recess as punishment is detrimental to students. Play and recess have value.

The value of play and recess:

• gross motor movements-can strengthen the core and other muscle
• gross motor skills practice
• sensory break for those who need it
• children need free time to explore their environments, test limits in a supervised environment
• sensory–touching dirt or grass, etc., swinging on swings
• zone out time-gives much needed time to reflect and recharge for the afternoon
• social-learn social mores, develop friendships
• may behavior-half/23166/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>cut behavior issues in half
• academic learning is NOT the only type of learning
• studies show that when recess is taken away, the child actually pays LESS ATTENTION to classwork
• learning works better when the whole body is involved

So what can you do?

If your child’s IEP team is taking away recess as a consequence, you need to approach this like any other advocacy issue: with data, documentation, and persistence. Here’s how to convince them to stop:

Use the Science Against Them

Schools love research, so hit them with the facts:

• The CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics say withholding recess is bad for learning, behavior, and self-regulation.
• Studies show kids focus better after recess—taking it away can make behaviors worse.
• Many states and districts prohibit taking away recess as punishment (check your local policies).

Tie It to the IEP or 504 Plan

• If your child has goals related to self-regulation, attention, behavior, or social skills, removing recess contradicts those goals.
• If the IEP includes movement breaks or sensory regulation, recess is part of that support. Taking it away violates their access to FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education).
• Ask for recess to be explicitly written into the IEP under accommodations. Something like: “Student requires daily access to recess or movement breaks as part of their behavioral and sensory regulation supports.”

Propose Alternatives

The school likely sees recess removal as an easy consequence. Offer evidence-based alternatives:

• Positive Behavior Supports (PBIS) instead of punishment.
• Restorative practices—having the student repair harm instead of losing movement time.
• Structured movement breaks instead of withholding recess.

Put It in Writing

If they keep taking away recess, send an email:

• Ask for data—how is taking recess helping your child’s behavior? (Spoiler: It’s not.)
• Request an IEP meeting to discuss alternative strategies.
• If necessary, file a formal complaint with the district or state.

Pro Tip: If the team resists, ask them to put in writing that they believe taking away recess is an appropriate intervention for a child with a disability.

Recess in an IEP

1. Call an IEP meeting about this to get it put into the IEP. Fairly simple–put it under SDIs that he/she needs the downtime and that taking away recess is not to be used as punishment. Submit this as your parent concerns that you wish to discuss.
2. Ask the team if they really feel this is effective behavior modification. Is it really working? (my experience is that it does not work, but it’s “what we’ve always done”) They are required to provide evidence-based strategies for your child, so ask them to show you the data that this works as effective behavior modification.
3. Be solution-oriented. What behaviors are leading up to this? What can be done instead?
4. If the child is not completing the assignment on time, why? Look at the underlying issue. Do they need more supports? Is there another time that these assignments could be completed?
5. Bring the child in on the conversation, if appropriate, to the IEP meeting. How do they feel about this?
6. A school or playground being accessible for the child should never be an issue. This should be covered under Section 504 or ADA. The same applies for bullying. Punishing the bullying victim by keeping him/her inside is not an acceptable solution.
7. I frequently tell parents that you must get your 1:1 times and duties clearly outlined in the IEP. If the child needs one during the school day and the IEP says as much, that includes lunch hours.
8. Read and revisit your child’s Behavior Support Plan and make adjustments as necessary.
9. Look at your child’s homework, level of work, and whether or not it is appropriate. Make other arrangements for assignments that are not completed in the same time frame as the rest of the class-whether it be at home, at before/after child care, or if the level of work needs to be modified for the child.
10. Once it is in the IEP, hold them to it. If they will not put it in the IEP, ask for that on a PWN–that parent asked for this modification to the IEP and it was declined.

Recess as Punishment-Non IEP Student

If you are feeling particularly inspired, I would recommend you tackling systems change. Make this official. Take it to your school district or school board and ask that it be adopted as policy.

I hope that this has got the wheels turning in your head and that you are ready to take this on. Our kids need to play. More than anyone, our educators should value this.