School to Start Later in CA
On October 13, 2019, Governor Newsom signed SB-328, mandating that California high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., and middle schools no earlier than 8 a.m. Schools will have approximately 3 years to implement the new start times, with all schools converted by the end of 2022. It should be noted that the bill does not cover “zero period” classes which typically start earlier in the morning.
Sleep promotes immune function, stimulates growth hormone release, and is involved in cellular repair. Some other functions of sleep that are related to school performance include:
Encoding memories and improving learning.
Enabling the brain to consolidate and practice what it has learned during the day.
Extraneous, unimportant information is trimmed.
Middle and high school students need 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night, but because of their particular physiology most are unable to fall asleep before around 11 p.m. That’s why adolescents can’t just “go to bed earlier.” It is also a myth that teens can catch up on the weekends. Sleep debt that occurs beyond one night cannot be made up.
Some school districts in the country moved their start times many years ago, with strongly positive results. Jessamine County, KY, moved their start times ahead by 50 minutes in 2003. They reported better attendance and more students getting to class on time, with no difference in the time students spent on homework, sports, volunteer work, or with friends. One of the most eyebrow-raising statistics that came out of the Jessamine County data was a 16.5% reduction in motor vehicle accidents.
One of the earliest late start shifts was undertaken by Minneapolis and Edina, MN districts, changing their start time from 7:20 to 8:40 in 1996-97. Students in this district got an hour more of sleep, with no change in their bedtime. Teachers reported that students were more alert in class, less likely to be tardy or absent, less likely to be referred for disciplinary problems, and fewer students were identified as depressed. Parents reported that their teens were easier to live with at home, and more likely to complete their homework assignments. After 1 year, 92% of parents approved of the later start time. A study of 9,000 students in Minnesota completed in 2014 also found 65% less car accidents involving teens.
California now becomes the first state in the nation to adapt late start. Hopefully schools will reduce their zero period class offerings, so that no student will be forced into zero period as the only option for a particular class. Late start is one of the best things we can do to improve the well-being of our students, parents, and communities.
Starting school later was one of the most significant and beneficial decisions I made in all the years I was an educator.
— Kenneth Dragseth, Ph.D | Retired Superintendent, Edina Public Schools, MN