More Boston Students Get Later School Day

BOSTON (AP) — Public school students in Boston will soon be able to get up later for class.

Boston Public Schools announced Thursday more than 94 percent of students in grades 7-12 will begin their days at or after 8 a.m. starting next school year. That's up from 27 percent currently.

CHECK: New 2018-19 Boston School Bell Times

The district says the later start times reflects a growing body of research supporting later start mornings for teens.

Boston is also pulling back dismissal times at some elementary schools. The number of students dismissed after 4 p.m. will decrease from 33 percent to 15 percent next year.

The district worked with MIT researchers to develop the new schedule, which calls for schools to begin every 15 minutes between 7:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. The district serves 57,000 students in 125 schools.

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