Many high schools have recently begun pushing back school start times to 8AM, and some, even 9AM. College classes often start, at the earliest, at 8AM, and studies have shown that student performance is maximized with higher amounts of sleep. However, many communities, at the local level, have been pushing against this movement due to the tremendous costs as well as the fact that it seems as though the school day schedule would simply be pushed back. What are your thoughts and experiences with this?
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Rachna Shah
May 7, 2017
School Start Times
School Start Times
Here's an update: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/05/30/school-start-times-massachusetts-state-house-present-petition/
I support this because students often stay up late doing homework and extracurriculars, and requiring them to be on campus so early prevents them from getting the necessary sleep. My school has always started at 8:35 am and ended at 2:55 pm, so schools can push back start times and still have students get a full day of study in. Starting classes later also allows more time for clubs before school.
I would strongly support pushing back start times. Given the overwhelming evidence about how a teenager's brain functions, I think there's an imperative to change school schedules accordingly. One of the major criticisms of later start times is that students will just stay up later, but research does not support this claim and suggests that it leads to more hours of sleep among students.
In California, my representative in the state Senate Anthony Portantino recently introduced and passed a bill requiring middle and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB328