Amber Buttermore

I am writing as a New Hampshire parent to urge the Department of Education to take meaningful action to ensure that all students in grades K through 8 receive daily recess and time outdoors during the school day. In Portsmouth, students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade currently receive no recess or scheduled outdoor time at all. This is deeply concerning, particularly in light of what we know about child development, mental health, and learning readiness. I have two children in the New Hampshire public school system. Both have had Individualized Education Programs in the past. Because of this, school choice is not simply a matter of preference for our family. Private school is not a realistic or appropriate option for many families, whether for financial, logistical, or educational reasons. What I am witnessing instead is a widening inequity. Families with financial means are able to access schools that offer multiple recesses, outdoor learning, and enrichment, while children in public schools are expected to spend the entire day indoors. At the same time, our schools rely heavily on screen-based learning and Chromebooks as part of daily curriculum. While I support responsible technology use, we are at a crossroads. We have worked hard to remove phones from children’s hands during the school day. The next logical and developmentally sound step is to ensure children are spending time outside, moving their bodies, and resetting their nervous systems. A minimum of 30 minutes of outdoor time per day should be considered a baseline, not a luxury. This raises an essential question: how are children expected to be emotionally available for learning when they are denied regular opportunities to regulate themselves? The school day already requires sustained cognitive effort, emotional resilience, and constant self-regulation. What about children who deal with learning challenges or mental health Issues. Dyslexia makes reading, writing, and language processing significantly more demanding. Anxiety compounds this by keeping the nervous system in a heightened state of stress. Without opportunities for movement, fresh air, and unstructured outdoor time, many children are asked to perform academically while their bodies and brains are overwhelmed. Recess and outdoor time are not rewards. They are essential regulation tools. Movement and time outside allow children to release stress, improve focus, and return to the classroom better prepared to learn. When recess is removed for any reason students are instead expected to suppress frustration, sensory overload, and emotional dysregulation for hours at a time. This approach is not developmentally appropriate and disproportionately harms students with disabilities, anxiety, and other neurodivergent needs. If we are serious about academic success, mental health, and educational equity in New Hampshire, we must acknowledge that a dysregulated child cannot learn effectively. Ensuring daily outdoor time for all K through 8 students is a necessary and achievable step toward supporting the whole child. Thank you for your time and consideration. I urge the Department to prioritize this issue and provide guidance or requirements that protect children’s physical, emotional, and cognitive well-being across all public schools in our state.