California students can now get more sleep before heading to school thanks to a new, and controversial, law passed by Gov.
Gavin Newsom on Sunday.
The legislation, Senate Bill 328, signed on Sunday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, pushes back the start times at most public middle and high schools, making California the first state to order such a shift.
Now, the classes for high schools, including those operated as charter schools, will start at 8:30 a.m. under the law. The classes for middle schools will start at 8 a.m.
Optional early classes will not be affected. The schools which are located in rural parts of the state can set their start times.
According to the news station, in a survey of California schools by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted in 2011-2012 found the average start time for middle school and high school students was 8:07 a.m. Many schools in the state required students to arrive by 7:30 a.m.
The law, which highlights worries about the effects of sleep deprivation on young people, is intended to improve attendance rates and reduce tardiness, said Anthony J. Portantino, a Democratic state senator who wrote the bill.
“Everybody is looking for a magic bullet with education, one that cuts across all demographics, all ethnicity and that has a positive, measurable increase in test scores, attendance and graduation rates without costing money,” he said in a telephone interview. “And this is it.”
Districts have until July 2022 to begin implementing the new times, according to KTTV.
Proponents of the bill believe the health benefits of getting more sleep will help students perform better in class.
“Newsom displayed a heartwarming and discerning understanding of the importance of objective research and exercised strong leadership as he put our children’s health and welfare ahead of institutional bureaucracy resistant to change,” said State Sen. Anthony Portantino, who authored the bill, according to CNN.
“Generations of children will come to appreciate this historic day and our governor for taking bold action,” he continued. “Our children face a public health crisis. Shifting to later start time will improve academic performance and save lives because it helps our children be healthier.”
But many school districts believed local officials should be the ones setting start times, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We should not set the bell schedule from Sacramento,” Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, a Democrat from Long Beach, told the newspaper. “Sacramento does not know best.”
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