Bay Area lawmaker renews push for later school start times nationally
SAN JOSE – As middle schools and high schools across California are starting classes later under a new state law, a Bay Area lawmaker is making a similar push for schools nationwide.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) announced Friday that she is introducing a measure in Congress to study the relationship between school start times and teens' health and academic performance. Known as the "ZZZ's to A's Act," the measure would direct the Department of Education to conduct the study and provide policy recommendations.
In 2019, California became the first state in the nation to forbid high schools from starting class before 8:30 a.m. and middle schools before 8 a.m. The law took effect at the beginning of this school year.
Advocates for later start times have cited research from the Centers for Disease Control noting that nearly 6 out of 10 middle school students reported not getting enough sleep on school nights, while more than 7 out of 10 high school students said they didn't get enough sleep.
The CDC recommends 8-10 hours of sleep for 13- to 18-year-olds. Teens who don't get enough sleep have higher risk of obesity, diabetes, injuries, poor mental health, along with issues with attention and behavior.
Meanwhile, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended starting middle school and high school at 8:30 a.m. or later.
"The science is clear: when adolescents hit puberty, their biological clocks change, and they are often unable to fall asleep as early as they once could. Despite this, teenagers still need 8-10 hours of sleep per night, and early school start times often don't allow students to get the sleep they need to stay healthy and succeed academically," Lofgren said in a statement.
Lofgren, who first introduced the measure in 1998, also cited the experience in her own family in dealing with the issue. "When my daughter was in high school, she suddenly struggled to get up in the morning. It was tough, as a parent, to see this change, and it's why I first starting learning about school start times," she recalled.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2017-18 school year, the average start time for the nation's high schools was 8 a.m. About 42% of schools had start times before 8 a.m., including 10% that started before 7:30 a.m.
The CDC urges parents to support good sleep habits, including sticking to a consistent sleep schedule during the week and on weekends, along with limiting light exposure and technology use in the evenings.