This news article reports the arrest of Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt, who is currently running for governor. The arrest adds to her mounting legal troubles during her campaign.
Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt ’s latest arrest adds to growing legal troubles during re-election campaign Read full article: Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt ’s latest arrest adds to growing legal troubles during re-election campaign FILE - A United Airlines jetliner sits at a gate along the A concourse of Denver International Airport, March 20, 2026, in Denver.
FILE- Students play ball during recess at the St. Agnes Elementary School in Phoenix, Ariz. , on March 3, 2020. FILE - Whittier Elementary School students enjoy recess, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022 in Mesa, Ariz. FILE- Students play ball during recess at the St. Agnes Elementary School in Phoenix, Ariz.
, on March 3, 2020. Recess isn’t just a fun break for grade schoolers. It’s crucial to good health and good grades for kids of all ages. , which just released the first new guidance in 13 years about this unstructured time at school and how it needs to be protected.
The group"has always supported play – free play for kids – but it’s been increasingly threatened over time,” partly by the drive for higher test scores, said Dr. Robert Murray, a lead author.
“It has a very powerful benefit if it’s used to the fullest. ” The new guidance, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, is similar to the previous policy statement but cites the latest research on why these breaks are essential for kids’ academic success and mental, physical, social and emotional growth.
For example, new evidence shows that kids need pauses between concentrated bouts of learning so the brain can hold and store the information. Researchers also say recess gives kids a chance to navigate relationships and build confidence, which is just as important for older kids as younger ones. Murray and his colleagues also stressed the importance of physical activity in preventing obesity, a condition that now affects about 1 in 5 U.S. children and teens.
Given these benefits, they recommend that recess be protected and never withheld for academic or punitive reasons, as sometimes happens in schools.
“If the child is disruptive or rude and disrespectful, recess is one of the things that teachers use to punish kids,” Murray said, adding that students struggling with behavioral issues or grades are often the ones who need recess most. But those students aren’t the only ones losing out. Recess has been waning for all kids.
Since the mid-2000s, up to 40% of school districts nationally have reduced or eliminated recess, according to data from the group Springboard to Active Schools in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Today, the duration of recess varies widely across U.S. schools, ranging from less than 10 minutes to more than an hour a day, the pediatrics group said. Older kids generally get less time than younger ones.
Ideally, studies show, kids should get a minimum of 20 minutes a day and multiple breaks. In other countries such as Denmark, Japan and the United Kingdom, students get breaks after every 45 minutes to 50 minutes of classroom instruction.
“They should get a long enough period of time where they can de-stress and blow off steam and prepare for the next class,” Murray said. Dr. Lauren Fiechtner, a childhood obesity expert at Mass General Brigham for Children in Boston, said she’s glad about the updated recess recommendations. She’s seen the importance of recess as both a doctor and mother of two. She recalled how her 8-year-old son learned how to play basketball at recess and now loves the game.
Fiechtner, who wasn’t involved in creating the guidance, agrees with the recommendation that middle and high school students need recess, too.
“As kids get older, they’re more on their screens. So it’s really helpful, I think, for outdoor activity and recess to be happening,” she said.
“Recess is great. We all kind of need recess. ”The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Employee finds coworker dead inside business with blunt force traumaBEHIND THE SCENES: Part 2 coming soon on why Houston drivers paying toll roads, but stuck in trafficHouston murder victim’s friends frustrated over husband Lee Gilley fleeing to Itay ahead of trialBig improvements in the drought in SE TexasHe pulled up to the wrong mailboxLee Gilley faces federal charge after allegedly using fake name, Belgian identification to fleeIs your name on the 2026 storm names list? Get ready Houston, we are about to see some rain in our area this afternoonFeliz Cinco de Mayo | The Enchilada Queen Sylvia Casares shares her perfect flour tortilla recipe
CRIME LEGAL Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt Gubernatorial Bid Latest Arrest Growing Legal Troubles Re-Election Campaign
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Indonesian police arrest 321 foreigners in an operation to crack down on banned online gamblingThe Associated Press
Read more »
Detectives arrest Porter man in deadly hit-and-run crash on U.S. 59Montgomery County sheriff’s investigators arrested Jeremy Michael Buckner, 35, of Porter, in connection with a fatal hit-and-run on U.S. Highway 59.
Read more »
Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt’s latest arrest adds to growing legal troubles during re-election campaignHarris County Treasurer Dr. Carla Wyatt is facing renewed scrutiny after her second DWI arrest in two years, months after a separate burglary case was no-billed by a grand jury.
Read more »
Carla Wyatt, Solomon-Simmons' First BookHarris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt's latest arrest adds to growing legal troubles during her re-election campaign. Meanwhile, a civil rights attorney named Damario Solomon-Simmons shares his personal account and the subject of his first book, 'Redeem a Nation: The Century-Long Battle to Restore the Soul of America,' about a reparations campaign for the living survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre and their descendants.
Read more »