School Start Times Pushed Back In Anne Arundel, Classes Will Start Later In Day Next Fall

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — Classes will start later in the morning beginning in the 2022-2023 school year, the Anne Arundel County Board of Education announced Thursday. Officials think this will create healthier start times for students when the policy takes effect next fall. Classes will then start:

• between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. in elementary schools
• between 8:30 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. in middle schools
• at 8:30 a.m. in high schools

Dismissal times will also get pushed back. Exact school hours won't be known for several months.

"This has been years in the making," school board President Melissa Ellis said in a press release. "There is more work to be done between now and then, but the certainty is that change is coming."

The board of education in March contracted Prismatic Services, Inc. to study school start times and the effects of a potential shift on bus schedules.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools previously hoped to implement the new class times in January 2022. Prismatic, however, recommended waiting until the start of the next academic year. The school board agreed and voted unanimously Wednesday night to delay the implementation until then.

The contractor suggested that AACPS can make the changes for little to no extra cost, but the school system may need up to 32 more buses to reduce existing overcrowding. Prismatic also hopes to consolidate some bus routes and stops to improve the efficiency of the current network. This advice comes as AACPS battles a nationwide bus driver shortage that has inconvenienced families all school year.

Prismatic will optimize its plan over the next four weeks with the school system's Transportation Department.

The new start times will require contract renegotiations, child care alterations as well as schedule modifications for meals and athletics. Superintendent George Arlotto is creating a team to iron out the logistics of the new bell schedule.

"Our Board remains committed to gathering input from stakeholders in order to support the community through this transition and to improve the lives of our students with healthier school hours," Ellis concluded.

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