Proposed Legislation Would Study Later Start Times For High School Students In NJ
TRENTON, N.J.(CBSNewYork) -- Almost everyone remembers dreading getting up early for class in high school.
A New Jersey lawmakers says there is a reason for that, and as CBS2's Christine Sloan reported, he has proposed a study to look into whether students would do better in class if they started school later.
"Waking up early is the worst part of high school because when I get home I am so tired," Francesca Jean Jacques said.
Students aren't the only ones who feel that way. So does State Senator Richard Codey (D) Essex County, who has proposed a bill that would study whether students should start classes an hour later.
"We want the Department of Education to look at whether we are sending our high school students to school much too early," Codey said.
The average start time for students in the Garden State is 7:30 a.m. Codey said it's causing students to be tardy or absent.
At least one parents liked the idea of having his teenage daughter sleep in.
"Kids should probably start later, get a good amount of sleep. The right amount of sleep," the parent said.
Doctor Deelip Chatterjee specializes in sleep disorders in adolescents. he said teens need at least 9 to 10 hours of sleep and that a recent pediatric study suggested a later class start is a good thing.
"The study was they delayed the start of school by an hour," Chatterkee said, "And there was a huge jump in grades."
He said most teenagers don't go to bed until 11 p.m. and that distractions like cell phones and computers keep them up.
But one college student said that in the real world you're expected to start your day early and teens better get used to it.
"In the morning you are more alert, I think I am, and later on in the day you want to have your free time later," Shannon Emile said.
Another study by the Healthy Sleep Awareness Project found that high school students with earlier start times have higher car crash rates.
It's all part of what Senator Cody would like the Department of Education to study.
Senator Codey said he expects the bill to get the approval of the State Senate and Assembly. It would then have to be signed into law by Governor Chris Christie.
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