Dive Brief:
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have joined the American Academy of Pediatrics in calling for schools to push back start times.
- The CDC says early start times for adolescents don't align with students' biological sleep patterns, which can have academic impacts but also cause safety concerns. The CDC, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, point to higher potential for car accidents in sleep-deprived teenagers.
- Around 40% of middle and high schools start before 8:30 a.m., which is too early, according the CDC report.
Dive Insight:
The research behind later school start times has been building for decades; the affirmation from the CDC is just the latest and most high profile assertion that early start times actually cause harm. A study from the University of Minnesota released earlier this year looked at more than 9,000 students in eight high schools and found later start times resulted in a host of positive outcomes. Students were more likely to show up to class on time, performed better on tests and report cards, and were less likely to use illicit substances or exhibit symptoms of depression.
Even so, school administrators looking to change bell times often face overwhelming and sometimes insurmountable opposition from an unlikely source: parents of students who would benefit. Common objections include school schedules interfering with after school jobs or sports participation or older students not being able to care for younger siblings.
But experts say school officials need to find a way. "We have to convince school systems this has to happen for the health of kids. It's not a negotiable school budget item — it's an absolute requirement," said Terra Ziporyn Snider, the co-founder of the advocacy group Start School Later. Her organization can help, by deploying volunteers to help give community-level efforts a boost.