California will become the first state in the nation to mandate later start times at most public schools under legislation signed into law by Gov. AdvertisementWhile school schedules vary, a legislative analysis in July said that roughly half the schools in the state will be required to delay their start times by 30 minutes or less to comply with the law. An analysis of the 2011-12 school year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the average start time for California schools attended by some 3 million middle school and high school students was 8:07 a.m. Shifting to a later start time will improve academic performance and save lives because it helps our children be healthier.”AdvertisementThe question of whether to push back school start times has lingered for years across the nation, hotly debated by academics and health professionals. and the California State Parent Teacher Assn., pointed to studies that found links between later start times, more sleep and better health and school performance among adolescents.

Source: Los Angeles Times October 14, 2019 00:23 UTC