The evidence that early school start times are horrible for middle and high school students is overwhelming and has been for decades. In 2014, an American Academy of Pediatrics study found that on school nights, 87 percent of high school students and 59 percent of middle schoolers slept less than the 8½ to 9½ hours recommended by doctors.
This is not a minor issue. As researchers have documented, not only does a lack of sleep hurt academic performance, it correlates with higher rates of obesity, depression, drug use and automobile accidents. High schools in Connecticut, Kentucky and Virginia have seen improved test scores and attendance since shifting to later start times. This is why the San Diego Unified School District’s decision in May to take steps to have all its schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. by fall 2020 was so welcome.
Now a majority of California legislators have finally figured out the stupidity of educational rigidity, passing a bill requiring middle and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. beginning in 2021-22. In a smarter world, the rule would be applied starting with the next school year. But SB 328 still deserves much praise. It may inspire a much broader and badly needed national debate about the wisdom of school policies that cut against children.
At least it might if Gov. Jerry Brown signs the bill. Brown is in his fifth decade of presenting himself as the voice of reason in California politics. If he wants to affirm this depiction in his final months in office, he should make it a law that schools must not operate in a way that hurts the health of students.
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