Students in all grade levels understand the struggle of getting up early in the morning for school. Many teachers, parents, and doctors agree and understand that a child is wide awake and ready to learn later on in the day instead of early morning and that getting up at an early time every day for school affects the way a student’s brain works. The experts believe that if school were to start at a later time, it would improve test scores, grades, and attendance. According to CNBC, “Experts say that later school times could boost graduation rates.” While many people agree that a later school start time for all students would benefit children’s sleep schedules and way of learning, those who disagree claim that a later start time could interfere with traffic and disrupt parents’ schedules.

Sleep deprivation is a serious problem that affects students all over the country. Students need plenty of sleep in order to concentrate and work well with educators and other students during school hours. Students tend to fall asleep late due to assignments or extra-curricular activities.  Students need at least 8-10 hours of sleep every day in order to be prepared for the next school day. If students do not get enough hours of sleep, it impacts their mood, energy and academic performance due to the fact that they are tired and lack sleep. Insufficient sleep times may lead to depression or developmental issues within children which continues to affect them later on in life. Tablets, and other technology devices (gaming consoles, smart phones) prevent children from sleeping at an early time and affect their sleeping schedule.

California has millions of students in public and private schools. There are many schools in California that start school at 8:30 a.m. However, there are still many schools that still continue to start at an earlier time. The state of California is considering later school start times for all schools. In August 2018, California lawmakers voted to ban both middle schools and high schools from starting before 8:30 A.M. California Governor Jerry Brown was expected to sign the bill in September of this year. However, Jerry Brown rejected or vetoed the bill due to it being opposed by teachers and school boards.  According to EdSource, “Jerry Brown has squashed an effort to mandate later school start times in most middle and high schools by vetoing a bill that would have banned starts before 8:30 a.m.”

Birmingham Community Charter High School is one of the few high schools in California that start class at 8:30 a.m. Cesar Rodriguez, a junior at BCCHS, finds the later school start time helpful stating that “starting school at 8:30 in the morning lets me sleep in and gives me the chance to finish any homework that I didn’t finish the night before.” Although he does find it helpful, he also stated that “the traffic in the morning is a problem when getting to school.”

Many students attending BCCHS enjoy starting school at 8:30 a.m. Although later start times for everyone could be beneficial for students, there are certain situations that could interfere with all middle and high schools in California starting at a later time.