California Schools to Have Later Start Times

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October 13, 2019

California students will be able to start school later, the result of a bill passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The new law will take effect at the beginning of the 2022–2023 school year or at the end of a school's collective bargaining agreement (whichever of those is later). In the end, middle schools must start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools must start no earlier than 8.30 a.m. The stipulations are for required classes only; schools can still offer optional classes before the official start of the school day. As well, some rural schools are exempt. One estimate found that about half of the state's schools would have to change their start times once the new law takes effect.

California will be the first state in the U.S. to make such a change. The idea of starting school at a later time has been a topic of debate for many years. Many doctors have said that as children grow into and through adolescence, they need more time to sleep and that their most effective times in a day might not be first thing in the morning, as judged by measurements of school performance.

Supporting the passage of the bill were two state organizations–the California Medical Association and the California State Parent Teacher Association–and the nationwide American Academy of Pediatrics.

It was the third straight year that the California legislature had considered such a bill. In 2017, the Assembly did not approve the bill; then-Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the bill that the state legislature passed year.

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Social Studies for Kids
copyright 2002–2023
David White

Social Studies for Kids
copyright 2002–2024
David White