The Start School Later movement attained a major victory when California Governor Gavin Newsome signed into law California Bill 328 that requires high schools to begin classes no earlier than 8:30 AM and middle schools 8:00 AM.
The law exempts rural districts, still allows for before school classes (so-called “zero period”), and will not go into effect until 2022.
California schools will thus have 3 years to make the necessary adjustments to comply with the law.
As with any major policy change at the local, state, or federal level, there are challenges to get everyone on board to support change.
It is even a controversy that plays out on a global stage with Brexit being only one of the more current ones.
While agreeing that teens need more sleep, many argue that starting school later will not guarantee that that they will.
American schools are still challenged by an achievement “gap” that has been persistent after many different efforts to reduce it over decades. »