NJ High Schools Could Start At 8:30 A.M. If This New Bill Passes

NEW JERSEY — A couple of hours of extra sleep may be coming for New Jersey teens if the Legislature goes forward with a new bill that would move high school start times to no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

The new bill (A3816), sponsored by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) and Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth), would go into effect at the start of the 2024-25 school year. The legislation would not impact elementary and middle school students.

Supporters of the bill say it is a response to the teen mental health crisis, which experts say was made worse by the pandemic.

"When students are well-rested and eat nutritious meals they’re better prepared to succeed in school,” said Coughlin (D-Middlesex). “Overwhelmingly the research and success stories out of other states’ school districts show that the benefits of later start times to students’ holistic well-being, in terms of both mental health and academic performance, easily outweigh the costs.”

The lawmakers behind the bill specifically cite study linking sleep and mental health, which discovered that teens who attend school earlier in the morning can be at a higher risk of experiencing depression and anxiety. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, New Jersey students start school around 7:51 a.m. on average.

But teens' circadian systems naturally cause them to sleep later, so when their first period begins too early, it puts additional strain on the sleep process and can impair sleep quality, according to a release announcing the bill.

“Sleep is fundamental to students’ mental and physical well-being,” Gopal said in a statement. “Ensuring students are getting enough rest is an important first step toward addressing the alarming rise in student mental health issues we’re seeing in New Jersey.”

According to a study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, insufficient sleep in adolescents has an impact on the health and safety as well as the academic success of high school students. Other organizations, such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggest that delaying school start times could prove beneficial to teen health.

Not A New Concept

While this may seem like a novel concept to many in the Garden State there are several districts that have been preparing for a change like this, and one that has already made the switch.

After the 2018-2019 school year, Princeton made the switch.

"There are many other measures that we can take, both at school and at home, to promote more sleep and less stress for our children," Former Princeton Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steve Cochrane said at the time, according to the Princeton Packet. "Nevertheless, the research is clear. A later start time does make a difference. Students do get more sleep."

The bill has gained support from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. At an event in Chatham last week, Gov. Phil Murphy said he is "absolutely open-minded" to a later start time in New Jersey high schools.

"There’s a fair amount of research that suggests it’s a better way to go to start later,” Murphy said.

Chatham is a school district that is pondering the logistics of such a switch, which include concerns about bussing, after school activities and the potential of having kindergarteners at bus stops in the dark.

One of the proposals presented was to change the start time at Chatham High School from 7:40 to 8:20 a.m. The day would end at 3 p.m. Within the school day, there would be two schedule adjustments to the school's six periods. One would be to shave off two minutes from each period and the second, to shorten lunch by two minutes.

Another possibility would be to start all pre-K through grade 5 schools up to 20 minutes later, to lessen bussing issues.