New York Schools Could Be Forced To Start Later
Back-to-school shopping is here, and if some New York lawmakers get their wish, the school day is going to start later.
When you were in school did you wish it started earlier? I sure didn't! I always wanted school to start later.
In fact, in college, when I could choose my schedule, the earliest class I took started at 10 or 11 a.m.
A pair of bills working their way through the New York State Legislature would, if passed, change what time school starts.
New York Lawmakers Want To Ban Early School Start Times
Lawmakers in Albany have introduced legislation that would set minimum start times for public schools across New York State, prohibiting elementary schools from starting before 8 a.m. and secondary schools from starting before 8:30 a.m.
Schools that fail to comply could lose state education funding. The bills, Senate Bill S2631 and companion Assembly Bill A7398, have been introduced and referred to education committees in both chambers.
Why Lawmakers Want To Change School Times
The bills are in response to a new growing trend of extremely early school hours in some school districts across the Empire State. Some elementary schools have shifted their start times as early as 7:50 a.m. so buses can complete their routes and circle back to pick up older students.
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School districts have been changing school times due to a statewide school bus driver shortage. The bus driver shortage is forcing many school districts to dramatically stagger their morning schedules because there aren't enough drivers to drive all the routes at the same time.
Health Issues
Lawmakers and health advocates backing the bill argue that forcing young children to wake up earlier than necessary causes real, measurable harm. Research shows that early wake-up times interfere with critical early-morning REM sleep cycles.
Later start times have been linked to better attention and impulse control, improved academic performance, and lower rates of youth depression and anxiety.
School districts are pushing back on the proposed law, saying it doesn't address the real issue. The bus driver shortage.
Where Bills Stand In New York
The Senate version of the bill is currently pending review in the Senate Education Committee. Because both bills remain in committee, school districts across New York currently still have the legal flexibility to set their own schedules.
But if and when this legislation passes, districts from the Hudson Valley to Buffalo would need to rethink how they structure their mornings.
