The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a lack of sleep is “common” among high school students and is associated with increased risk of being overweight, drinking, smoking, using drugs and poor academic performance. ![]() Numerous studies have concluded that the later start times are healthier for kids, reduce juvenile crime, improve grades, boost sports performance and even result in better teenage driving records, because sleepy teens cause more accidents. That’s the earliest start time recommended for high schools and middle schools by the American Medical Association. during the 2017-2018 school year, according to a survey by the National Center for Education Statistics published in 2020, the latest year for which the federal agency has comprehensive statistics.īut Kyla Wahlstrom, a senior research fellow and lecturer at the University of Minnesota, estimates that 1,000-2,000 individual school districts across the country, as well as the two states, have recently moved high school start times to approximately 8:30 a.m. The average start time for public high schools was 8 a.m. She said she understood the studies about the benefits to kids but added, “The cost outweighed the benefits.” ![]() ![]() “The state often puts these things together and pushes them down to the local school districts.” “While the students are going back and forth, it’s the responsibility of the districts and it will increase the cost to the district and is a recurring cost every year,” she said in an interview with Stateline. Patricia Hawkins-Williams, a Democrat who voted against the measure, said she was concerned about costs, especially for smaller school districts. The issue for many school districts is that allowing high schools to start closer to elementary and middle school start times means running more buses. The legislature set aside $5 million to plan, implement and evaluate the new start times, but Hawkins-Williams said she worries districts will be on the hook after that initial money runs out. The new law requires district school boards to “discuss local strategies to successfully implement the later school start times.” The measure passed on overwhelmingly bipartisan votes.īut Florida state Rep. John Temple, a Republican who sponsored his state’s measure, told the House Education and Employment Committee in March that when teenagers don’t get enough sleep, their health, safety and academics all suffer, and he noted a requirement for local input. There has been legislation proposed in 25 states, she added, but getting these bills through legislatures won’t be easy.Ĭouch, car or curb: Defining which young person is ‘homeless’ affects aid state by stateįlorida state Rep. “The fact that Florida passed it is a game changer it shows this really is a bipartisan issue,” said Terra Ziporyn Snider, the group’s executive director and co-founder. But most didn’t pass Maine, Maryland and Indiana approved studies, the group said. ![]() Lawmakers in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Texas all had bills up this year, according to Start School Later, an advocacy group that tracks the bills. Florida overwhelmingly passed a law this year with similar requirements, which schools must meet by July 2026.īut similar efforts in other states have stalled or been reduced to legislation calling for studies of the issue, in the face of opposition from local school districts worried about budgets and parents concerned about upending family schedules. and middle schools not before 8 a.m., took effect last school year. or later.īut such changes come with difficult ripple effects - upended bus schedules, later starts for extracurriculars and new schedules for teachers and staff - making many other states and localities hesitant to change.Ĭalifornia’s first-in-the-nation law, which requires that high school classes start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. California and Florida have become the first states to require later public school start times, a response to reams of research showing significant advantages for high school students who can get more sleep by beginning their day at 8:30 a.m.
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