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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A group of St. Petersburg parents are petitioning the Pinellas County School Board and the superintendent to bring back recess for all elementary school students.
It's part of a grass roots push that is catching fire across the state, and this month resulted in a bill in the Legislature that would make recess mandatory in Florida.
The Tampa Bay Times reports (http://bit.ly/1M7fypV ) that in Orange County, 1,600 signatures on a pro-recess petition gained the attention of national news networks this year. Lee County's petition has nearly 1,300 signatures, and Osceola County's has 700. Polk County parents addressed their petition to every superintendent in the state, gathering 3,000 signatures.
Recess has eroded steadily over the years, elbowed from the school day as the state has ramped up accountability measures.
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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.
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