The Carson City School Board is considering cutting back the district's required daily recess time by one-third, causing concern among some local parents. 

Under the Carson City School District's policy, elementary school students get at least three 15-minute recess periods per day. Under the proposed policy introduced at the board's March 24 meeting, the required recess time would be brought down to 30 minutes, with the option for an additional 15 minutes. 

Christine Perkins, the district's MTSS (multitiered system of support) and student wellness director, said the way the current policy is written is restrictive and the new language would allow more scheduling flexibility for principals. 

"Our intention is 100 percent to keep recess a daily part of every elementary student's day," she said during the board meeting. 

The proposed policy was a discussion-only item on the Carson City School Board's agenda, meaning the board took no action on it for now. The board is expected to revisit the proposal with some possible changes at a later date. 

Mary Ann Giddens was one of the parents who spoke against the policy at the meeting. 

"In my opinion, reducing recess will ultimately make our kids suffer as a result of adult mismanagement," she said. "Reducing the time of recess is counterintuitive to trying to get the best out of our kids." 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recess improves students' memory, attention and concentration, reduces disruptive behavior in the classroom and supports their social and emotional development. 

At least 13 states have laws that require daily recess. 

Nevada doesn't have a law in the books that requires a certain number of recess minutes, specific recess structure or prohibits schools from withholding recess for certain students. However, the state's wellness policy states schools must provide students with the opportunity for moderate to vigorous physical activity for at least 30 minutes during each regular school day, and Carson City's policy is more generous than some other Nevada districts. 

The Clark County School District said in a statement this can include morning recess, lunch recess, physical education and routine brain breaks throughout the instructional day. But the state policy doesn't set a minimum recess time. 

The Storey County School District, which serves about 400 students, has a similar wellness policy, but leaves the implementation to the discretion of each of its school sites, Superintendent Joe Girdner said in a March 26 statement. He added that the district has a single P.E. teacher for its four schools and because of this, the frequency and duration of P.E. can vary by grade level and scheduling needs. 

Washoe County School District elementary school students get a minimum of 100 minutes of recess per week, or about 20 minutes per day, said spokeswoman Vickie Campbell. They also receive P.E. once per week, but it's not a required course in their curriculum.  

In addition to the Carson City School District's required recess time, elementary school students get 45 minutes of physical education (P.E.) per week, plus a bonus lesson once a month, totalling 225 minutes of P.E. per month.

A 2025 bill, AB53, would have required at least 20 minutes of outdoor recess each school day, and indoor recess during unsafe weather conditions, for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The bill would also prohibit schools from denying recess time for students with behavioral or academic issues, except in certain circumstances. But the bill died without a hearing.  

News briefs

📵 Parents pledge no cellphones for young kids — A Sparks mom and former education reporter has started a local chapter of a national movement of parents pledging not to get their child a smartphone until at least the end of eighth grade. 

• During her reporting, Brandi Vesco learned about the risk of childhood smartphone use and also stumbled across the Wait Until 8th movement.
• She was inspired to take the pledge herself when her 8-year-old daughter began asking when she could get a smartphone as so many of her classmates already had, but she needed at least 10 families from the same grade and school to formally participate in the program. 
• "This really helps ease the 'everyone else has one' pressure that kids and parents start to feel as early as third or fourth grade," Vesco said. "And it creates an important sense of community as we work to normalize the choice to delay smartphones during childhood."
• A 2025 study found that owning a smartphone in early adolescence is associated with increased risks of depression, obesity and insufficient sleep compared to not owning a smartphone.
• As of March, the Wait Until 8th Reno-Sparks chapter has gathered 332 pledges from families across 35 district schools and 149 from parents of private school students. 
• Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson recently proclaimed April as Wait Until 8th Month. 
• The local chapter is hosting an event April 14 with a screening of the Growing Up Digital documentary on youth smartphone use, with a discussion moderated by Sarah Johns of KTVN Channel 2. Free child care and dinner will be provided. Register online by April 9 to attend. 

📝 Students' idea for a state fruit inspires proposed legislation — Assm. Bert Gurr (R- Elko) is planning to introduce a bill during the 2027 legislation session that would designate the blue elderberry as the state's official state fruit, he announced last month. 

• Gurr said the inspiration for the proposed bill came from a group of Elko County students who wrote to the lawmaker after learning Nevada was one of only 10 states without an official state fruit. 
• The students suggested the blue elderberry because it's native to Nevada and grows naturally across the state, including in the Ruby Mountains, Lamoille Canyon, Mount Charleston and the Sierra Nevada mountain range
• Historically, Native American tribes such as the Paiute and Shoshone peoples gathered elderberries for food and traditional uses.
• Gurr said he plans to invite the students to the Capitol so they can witness the legislative process firsthand.
• "Civic education is most powerful when students see that their voices matter," Gurr said.  "I'm proud to help bring their idea to the Legislature and give them a chance to see how a bill becomes law."

Reading assignments

Nevada Supreme Court blocks release of file on officer seen pushing Vegas student to ground

The court said in its decision the information within the file is exempt from disclosure under Nevada Public Records Act. 

Extra credit

Las Vegas Sun: Aging buildings, fewer students create new reality for CCSD

The working draft of Clark County School District's "facility master plan" identifies about 80 schools for potential "long term trade-up," which the firm working with the district said doesn't necessarily equate to closure.

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