California State Senator Wants Schools to Start Later For Teens

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, CA — Any parents with teenagers know just how hard it is to wake them up for school in the morning. That is a why a Southern California lawmaker introduced a bill this week to start middle and high school classes later.

The bill by state Sen. Anthony Portantino, a Democrat from La Canada Flintridge, would require school districts in the state start their middle and high school days no earlier than 8:30 a.m. in accordance with a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The APA issued a policy statement in 2014 recommending the later start time to align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents. Teenagers' sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty, according to Dr. Judith Owens, lead author of the policy statement.

"The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life," Owens said. "Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn."

The average school day start time for California's 3 million public middle and high school students is 8:07 a.m., according to Portantino, citing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

California school districts would benefit with later school day start times as funding is tied to attendance, according to Portantino. The Los Angeles Unified School District estimated by improving the current attendance rate by 1 percent, the district would gain an additional $40 million per year, he said.

"Every year we discuss as parents, educators, and legislators, best practices and interests of the children and education," Portantino said. "Well data is clear — starting the school day later improves the quality of education, health and welfare of our children."

-- City News Service contributed to this report. Photo credit: husin.sani/Flickr/CC 2.0