All middle and high schools across the state will begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. starting next school year

PHOTO: Later start time will allow students more time to sleep.

By Grace Kishiyama,

BlueDevilHUB.com Editor in Chief–

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that teens ages 14 to 17 receive an average of eight to 10 hours of sleep per night. However, according to the US Centers of Disease and Control, “more than two out of three high school-aged adolescents aren’t getting enough sleep.”

To better adapt to the later circadian rhythm of teens, the state of California passed a bill in 2019, mandating that “the school day for high schools, including high schools operated as charter schools, shall begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m.”

The extra 15 minutes of sleep does not sound like much but, over time, will make a difference.

The main motivation behind Senate Bill 328 (SB 328) was to better suit the sleep schedules of teens. 

“The idea was to adapt the school start time to reflect the physiological and biological nature of students in this [adolescent] age group,” vice president of School Services of California Patti Herrera said.

By adapting school start times in high schools to better fit the sleep schedules of adolescent students, proponents of SB 328 are hoping to give students the opportunity to get more hours of sleep.

“Proponents of this change believe that a later start time will give students a better chance to succeed in school,” Herrera said. 

A lot of students are less than excited about the change.

Junior Malia Peris lives in Dixon and has to commute every day to come to school, and does not think the later start time will benefit her.

“I would get to sleep in a little which would be nice, but overall I don’t think it’s much of a later start,” Peris said.

Sophomore Sabrina Hazel agrees that the start time would not have substantial benefits.

“I’ll still have to wake up early after getting little sleep from sports and homework […] maybe it will give me a little more time in the morning but I don’t see it benefiting me or any other students much,” Hazel said.

But Ben Disney feels differently.

“I think [the later start time] will at least [be somewhat beneficial] because that little extra time to sleep in will help me be more awake and [attentive],” Disney said.

DJUSD does not yet have a schedule set in stone for next year.

Troy Allen, the Davis Joint Unified School District director of secondary education, is “leading the conversation and committee work.”

“This winter we should make decisions on […]  how schedules might change,” Allen said. “In the springtime there will be more information.”

Right now the Secondary Review Committee, a group of teachers, administrators, counselors and other staff members from all DJUSD junior and high schools, with the exception of DSIS and King High School, are only tasked with talking about the new schedule.

“[Right now] it is just a fascinating conversation,” Allen said. 

The anticipation surrounding what next year will look like in regards to the schedule has some already worried.

“[Some staff are] worried about how their world, classes, schedules will be impacted,” Allen said.

Staff, students and parents will have opportunities later in the 2021-2022 school year to offer feedback. Until then, The HUB would like to offer ours.

We think Davis High should align its schedule with the junior highs so that incoming sophomores will have an easier adjustment to high school. We also think we should look at an even later start time on Wednesdays so we can catch up on sleep mid-week. Perhaps we should even consider block periods every day for sustained learning–and an earlier finish time.