Class Start Times Will Be Adjusted For Howard County Public Schools Starting This Fall

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — School start times for the 2023-2024 calendar year will change for Howard County students.

At its Thursday meeting, the Howard County Board of Education approved different start times and specified that exact start times for each school will be established later this spring once transportation routes are finalized.

The plan adopted by the board will have start times occurring in three tiers. Some schools may start slightly before or after the stated time for each tier:

• Schools in Tier 1 will begin at 8 a.m. and dismiss at 2:45 p.m. These include all 13 high schools, several middle schools, Cedar Lane School and Homewood Center.
• Schools in Tier 2 will begin at 8:40 a.m. These include a combination of middle and elementary schools with middle schools dismissing at 3:25 p.m. and elementary schools dismissing at 3:10 p.m.
• Schools in Tier 3 will begin at 9:15 a.m. and dismiss at 3:45 p.m. These include the remainder of elementary schools.

More information about the process to evaluate school start times can be found on the HCPSS website.