Although the change will kick in at most districts as school begins in the coming days, a few were early implementers, giving them a year or two to fine-tune bus and bell schedules and get feedback from parents.
administrators have had to tackle some new challenges, including navigating student and parent needs.
Because the start times needed to be staggered for the new system, Frausto said he “might as well bite the bullet” and get in line with the coming law. It was signed in 2019, giving schools three years to make the change. “SFUSD saves about $3 million each year in transportation costs, which can instead be spent on directly supporting students,” she said. “Since start times are spaced out by 50 minutes , each bus can be used to transport students to three different schools.”
“We resolved that by putting in after-school programs, and even expanding our after-school programs,” Frausto said. “A change in schedule that drastically affects us internally and externally,” she said. “Bell schedules are how we run as a system, and when you alter those significantly, it changes the entire operation for students, for families and for staff.”“What we heard the most from our students is their inability to get part-time work that many of our kiddos need,” she said.
So this year high schools were adjusted 10 minutes back to begin at 8:30 a.m. and elementary schools went 10 minutes forward to 8 a.m. When SB 328 went into effect this July, it made California the first state in the U.S. to mandate later start times for teens, amid evidence that their natural sleep-wake cycle is different from children and adults, making it difficult for them to get a good night’s sleep if school starts too early. There are now similar bills in New York and New Jersey.
Lewis pointed out several studies that found later start times do help teens sleep more. Only 22% of teens get at least eight hours of sleep, according to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
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