CA public high schools will start no earlier than 8:30am this school year.
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It took a few decades of study, but officials are starting to come around to the idea that having high schoolers dissect a frog at 7:15am on a Tuesday may not be the move. A new California law in effect this year—the first in the country—requires all public high schools in the state to start no earlier than 8:30am.
Why later? Science says teens need more sleep, so having to catch the bus when it’s still dark out isn’t ideal. A 2019 CDC survey found that just 22% of high schoolers logged eight hours of sleep on school nights. The “stop scrolling” TikToks aren’t likely to make a dent in that, either.
Sleep deprivation also affects mental health, and a study released by the CDC in April found that 44% of high schoolers had “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.”
Does starting later work? It seems to. In 2016, Seattle public schools moved their start time from 7:50am to 8:45am, and students logged a median 34 extra minutes of sleep. Students in a suburban Denver school district recorded 45 extra minutes on average after shifting later.
Zoom out: New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, and the US Virgin Islands are working on similar bills that would push school start times.—MK
Stay tuned for more Back to School stories throughout the week.
