With a signature in the final hours of the legislative session, California will become the first state in the country to have later start times at most middle schools and high schools.
The idea of “late start” had been a topic for the Culver City Unified School Board for several years. Advocated by Dr. Steve Levin and Dr. Kelly Kent, the statistics that have been presented over the course of many meetings resonated with a group of parents who went on to push for CCUSD to adopt the later school start, with or without the state.
The legislation signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday, is designed to improve educational outcomes by giving students more sleep. Middle school will start no earlier than 8 am, and high school no earlier than 8:30 am.
Not everyone is fan, either of the later schedule or the Sacramento mandate. Both school board members Summer McBride and Anne Allaire have commented at multiple board meetings on the possible negative impact on working families.
While there is still a survey out online for families to add their thoughts to the CCUSD policy culvercitycrossroads.com/2019/09/30/ccusd-survey-should-the-high-school-day-begin-later/
the passage of the law in Sacramento will change the local conversation.
Judith Martin-Straw
Though starting the school day at a later time is not exactly the same as the annual change in day-light saving time coming up later this month—by adding an hour of sleep before starting the day–its initial impact has always diminish over the first two or three weeks after the time change as everybody’s circadian rhythms shift to their pre-change routine and traits.
Is the district willing to forego the annual time change in the Spring when most clocks across the nation are set forward an hour and most of us have our daily routines broken by “losing” an hour’s sleep, or will the district simply not choose to recognize the annual time change, so as not to temporarily disrupt our students’ ability to learn?
George Laase