Research on School Start Times

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Several research studies encourage later start times for middle or high schools. 

• American Academy of Pediatrics recommends middle and high schools delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later. Doing so will align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty.  American Academy of Pediatrics, August 2014

• The combination of delayed bedtimes and early school start times results in inadequate sleep for a large portion of the adolescent population. Centers for Disease Control, August 2015

• The authors of “School Start Time Change: An In-Depth Examination of School Districts in the United States” provide recommendations regarding the process involved in changing school start times as an impetus for school districts across the country take this step. Mind, Brain and Education, December 2014.

• The Journal of School Health issued a call to action to  a call to action for the implementation of American Academy of Pediatrics/Centers for Disease Control and recommendations across the U.S. Setting Adolescents Up for Success: Promoting a Policy to Delay High School Start Times Journal of School Health, July 2016.

Other districts' experiences with initiatives to change to start times
 

• Seattle Public Schools, Seattle, WA.  Studied the issue for 7 months. School Board approved schedule change to 8:30 am or later in November 2015. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/seattle-board-approves-later-start-times-for-schools/
   
• Chicago Public Schools, Chicago, IL.  Recommendation was driven by transportation costs, rather than sleep research.  Approved July 2015. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-chicago-school-schedule-changes-met-20150730-story.html
   
• Compilation of Success Stories from school districts in 44 states that have changed start times.
   
• Fairfax County Public Schools, Falls Church, VA.  Studied the issue from 2012 to 2014.  School board approved schedule change in 2014. 
   
• Newton Public Schools, Newton, MA.  Began studying the issue in Fall 2015. Currently considering a shift to later start times for high school.  
   
• Nauset Regional School District, Nauset, MA.  Studied the issue for several years. Implemented later start time at high school in 2012. 
   
• St. Paul Public Schools, St. Paul, MN.  Began studying the issue in 2013.  Board of Education voted against changing start times November 2015.  
   
• Bellevue School District, Bellevue, WA.  Studied the issue from 2014 to 2015.  Board of Education approved the later start time at high school in 2016. 
   
• Southern Maine School Districts. Article highlights grass roots efforts by parent groups to delay start times.  
   
• Wappingers Central School District, Hopewell Junction, New York.  Recommended change in start times.  Board of Education voted against changing times for 2016-17.  District is revisiting the issue for the 2017-18 school year.
   
• Oklahoma City School District, Oklahoma City, OK.  Seven schools in the Oklahoma City School District begin later start times with the 2016-17 school year.  
   
• Education Week Scientists Say Teens Need More Sleep. Should States Require Later School Start Times?