Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmakers hear evidence for later school start times, citing academic and public‑health benefits
Summary
Delegate April Miller urged HB189 to require middle schools to start no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and high schools at 8:30 a.m., citing academic improvement, reduced teen crashes and better mental‑health outcomes; MSDE and LEA fiscal/operational concerns were noted and the sponsor asked for flexibility and implementation study.
House Bill 189 was presented by Delegate April Miller, who summarized research linking later school start times to improved attendance, grades, graduation rates and reductions in teen car crashes and mental‑health risks.
Miller cited studies including a University of Minnesota paper linking an extra hour of sleep to a 28 percent reduction in reports of unhappiness and depression among students, and AAA data showing declines in teen crashes after later start times in specific districts. She said later start times disproportionately benefit low‑income students who rely on public transit and often face housing instability and nocturnal disruptions.
MSDE and some school systems had submitted testimony noting substantial fiscal and logistic impacts from bus routes and extracurricular scheduling; Miller replied that routing software and pandemic‑era innovations have made adjustments more feasible and urged the committee to put student health first. The committee asked for cost estimates and implementation scenarios before acting.
No final vote was taken; members requested additional fiscal analysis and operational plans from MSDE and local school systems to evaluate tradeoffs.
