What was the worst part about high school? If you’re like me then your answer probably has various components, but one of the worst things that I remember was having to get up at the crack of dawn in order to be on campus by 7:30 in the morning. It was not fun.
But as of July 1, teens in California no longer have to worry about crazy early starts to their school day. In fact, back in 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 328, which states that public high schools can’t start earlier than 8:30 a.m., and middle schools must start at 8 a.m. or later.
The reason for such early starts previously is because most school districts have a fleet of buses that provide services to all schools from elementary up through high school. It was usually the teen students having to start school earlier in order to accommodate these bus services being able to pick up younger students on time in order to prevent them being stranded or allowing for parents to see them off to school before going to work.
However, there has long been a debate amongst experts in regards to how super early starts might negatively impact students. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, such early starts amongst junior high and high school students can cause insufficient sleep. Back in 2014, the AAP even released a statement that pressed high schools and junior highs to come up with school times that would allow students to get a full 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep a night. The AAP stated that doing so would bring improvement to both the physical and mental health of students as well as see better academic performance and quality of life.
Back in 2004, a study done by researchers at the University of Munich found that the 24 hour cycle – which corresponds with the times when people wake and rest – gets later during the teenage years. While after the age of 20, the waking and sleeping hours of people tends to get earlier. Therefore, making teens get up earlier than needed can cause sleep deprivation.
The new law was drafted by Democratic state senator Anthony J. Portantino, and it was written with the purpose of improving both attendance rates and reducing lateness. However, not everyone was a fan of it as it meant logistically, extracurricular activities will have to be pushed back into the evening times. Additionally, there was opposition to the bill from the California Teachers Association, which believed that school start times should be decided at a local level and by the community.
Still, this new bill has several other states considering changing to later start times. Some bigger school districts in both Denver and Philadelphia are actually bringing in these changes to their districts.
While it’s a California law now, it will not apply to the rural school districts in the state. All other schools will have to comply.
What do you think of the new law? Let us know!