Requires public schools to start no earlier than eight thirty a.m. and that no public high school within the state shall start before an elementary school starts within the same school district.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9730
SPONSOR: Brown K TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring public
schools to start no earlier than eight thirty a.m. and that no public
high school within the state shall start before an elementary school
starts within the same school district
PURPOSE:
Requires public schools to start no earlier than eight thirty a.m. and
that no public high school within the state shall start before an
elementary school starts within the same school district.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 60. start no earlier than eight thirty a.m. and that no
public high school within the state shall start before an elementary
school starts within the same school district.
Section 2: No public school within the state shall be entitled to any
school moneys unless the trustees or school board for the preceding year
can show that the school started no earlier than eight thirty a.m. and
that no high school from the same district, started before an elementary
school.
Section 3: Identifies effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, children ages 6-12
need nine to twelve hours of sleep, and teenagers ages 13-18 between
eight and ten hours each night. However, studies have demonstrated that
most American adolescents are not getting enough sleep.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that nearly 60%
of middle schoolers fail to get enough sleep on school nights and for
high schoolers, that number is over 70%. Late bedtimes and early school
start times are contributing factors. A lack of sleep impacts overall
student health, wellbeing, and academic success, and it can even have
long-term health consequences.
Mental health is also a serious consideration. One study of middle and
high school students in Fairfax County, VA, found that each hour of lost
sleep was linked to a 42% increase in suicidal thoughts and a 58%
increase in suicide attempts.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has called insufficient sleep in
adolescents a public health issue and recommends that middle and high
schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. But as of 2017,'the average
start time for public high schools nationwide was 8 a.m., and 10% of
schools started before 7:30.
The Brookings Institute did a series of studies relating to the impact
of school start times in North Carolina schools. They found that at the
younger grade levels an early start time did not negatively impact their
academic success. However, for middle schooler's start times were
impactful. They found robust evidence linking later start times to
increased test scores for middle school students. A one-hour delay in
middle school start time produced higher math and reading scores.
For High Schooler's The National Sleep Foundation found that both
attendance and graduation rates "significantly improved" in schools that
delayed their start times to 8:30am or later.
Currently California and Florida are the first states to require later
public school start times, several other states are introducing bills to
change start times and Maine, Maryland and Indiana have approved studies
to look into it.
Part of the difficulty in passing the laws is a lack of education about
teenagers' sleep, said the University of Minnesota's Dr. Kyle Wahlstrom,
a leading expert on adolescents' sleep patterns. Her seminal study in
2017 noted that research as early as the 1990s showed teenagers are
"unable to fall asleep before about 10:45 p.m. and remain in sleep mode
until about 8 a.m."
Of the more than 9,000 students who participated in the University of
Minnesota study, those who slept eight or more hours each night, were
less likely to report symptoms of depression and to fall asleep in
class. And the number of car crashes in the districts studied decreased
by 13%.
Studies repeatedly point to the benefits of a later school start time.
It is time for New York to make the change.
This bill will improve the sleep, and therefore the performance, health,
and success of students in school by requiring public schools to start
no earlier than eight thirty a.m. and that no public high school within
the state shall start before an elementary school starts within the same
school district.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all academic
years beginning on or after such date..
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9730
IN ASSEMBLY
April 3, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. K. BROWN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring public
schools to start no earlier than eight thirty a.m. and that no public
high school within the state shall start before an elementary school
starts within the same school district
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 60 to read as follows:
3 60. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations requiring
4 all public schools within the state to start no earlier than eight thir-
5 ty a.m. and that no public high school within the state shall start
6 before an elementary school starts within the same school district.
7 § 2. Section 3604 of the education law is amended by adding a new
8 subdivision 8-a to read as follows:
9 8-a. No public school within the state shall be entitled to any
10 portion of such school moneys on such apportionment unless the report of
11 the trustees or board of education for the preceding school year shall
12 show that the public schools started no earlier than eight thirty a.m.
13 and that no high school within such school district started before an
14 elementary school within such school district started.
15 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all
16 academic years beginning on and after such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13129-01-3
