New Legislation May Lead To Later Starting Time For California Schools
New California legislation is being reintroduced that will potentially change the start time of schools to a later time.
By NathanG on August 24, 2018
After a proposal for delaying starting times at California middle and high schools was vetoed last year, the bill has been reintroduced and may have a better shot at passing this year. Last year, the school boards and teachers unions shut down the bill that would change the start times of schools to a later time of 8:30 am.
According to the Sacramento Bee, Sen. Anthony Portantino introduced the bill and cites student health and well-being as the reason for why it should be passed. He references a 2014 suggestion by the American Academy of Pediatrics for a later school start for students. In that, they shared information that links lack of sleep to physical and mental health problems in students. “We want healthy kids to do well,” Portantino said, “and this is a three-decade peer reviewed research way that has results to back it up.”
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Opponents of the bill, from the California Teachers Association, argue that the bill would create more problems than it solves. They believe that state legislators have no insightful knowledge about special circumstances that specific schools may have, and should not have the authority to decide over local control.
Claudia Briggs, from the CTA, said, “It should be a conversation that should be had by school district officials, parents, students and educators.” “We shouldn’t have a one-size fits all approach for all school start times based on how geographically diverse and large our state is.”
For more information about the new school legislation, click here.
