CODEY BILL WOULD EVALUATE LATER START TIMES FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLS & HIGH SCHOOLS Studies Show Academic & Health Benefits of Starting School Day Later TRENTON — Senator Richard J. Codey wants the State Department of Education to study the potential benefits of later start times for middle school and high school students who may be prone to negative health consequences and academic underperformance because of sleep deprivation. Senator Codey will introduce legislation this week directing state education officials to conduct a study of the issue, including a review of recent recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics to address what it calls a significant health issue for adolescents. “Studies are showing that our current school start time system is flipped the wrong way,” said Senator Codey. “Middle and high school start times are too early and elementary and pre-k classes are too late. Research from the medical and educational community is showing it is bad for learning and can have negative consequences for the health of adolescents when school start times for teens are before 8:30 a.m.,” Codey added, “even though many of them are starting at 7:30.” The average start time for the majority of the nation’s more than 18,000 public high schools is before 8:00 a.m., the review found. Early start times result in more absences and tardiness and lower test scores, multiple studies have found. The AAP report supports changing the school start times at our middle and high schools to 8:30 a.m. or later and encourages doctors to actively speak to their local boards of education on the topic, Senator Codey noted. Doctors say that teenagers need a minimum of nine hours of sleep. Without it, their grades can suffer, they are more prone to physical problems such as obesity and to mental problems such as depression, according to the pediatricians’ report. There is also a higher rate of driving accidents involving drowsy students, the report found. In addition, reports show that it is biologically difficult for teens to fall asleep before 11 p.m. and wake up prior to 8 a.m. In addition to doing an assessment of the potential health, academic and safety benefits of beginning the school day later, Senator Codey’s bill would have the education officials consider a pilot program for some New Jersey schools to voluntarily test later start times. The state study would include a review of other schools in the country and options for making any recommended time changes. The report would be submitted to the Legislature and the Governor, according to the bill. “This is more than a matter of teenagers dozing at their desks, this is about their health and ability to learn, retain information and succeed,” said Senator Codey. “The smart thing to do is to start the school day at a time that is best for learning and best for the health and safety of students.” More than 1,000 schools across the country have already pushed back start times and reviews of these districts have shown improvements in various measures, Senator Codey noted. The legislation will be officially introduced on Thursday.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 18:19:37 +0000
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