Later Start For Millburn High Students? It Is On The Table

MILLBURN, NJ - This fall, New Jersey high school kids are about to get a big morning break – and more sleep – if they go to one of five high schools. Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation that will require the Department of Education to establish a four-year pilot program testing later school start times for five high schools.

While that pilot takes place, Millburn will be conducting a study of its own.

"As part of our proposed district goals, we will be exploring the possibility of changes to the start times for schools within our district," Dr. Christine Burton said. "As you may be aware, the State of New Jersey and the Department of Education are exploring changes in start time for Middle School and High School."

The district will be convening committees this fall to discuss and investigate the pros and cons of altering start times for the schools, according to Burton.

"We will be reaching out to parents, staff and students to participate in this process as we review options and plan to make a decision on this important issue for our community," Burton said.

The law signed will assess how shifting start times would impact districts overall, including how extracurricular activities may be impacted and how transportation to and from school would be affected, according to the Murphy administration.

"Research also shows that academic progress may be negatively impacted by starting school too early," Murphy said. "By testing the viability of changing start times, we are exploring ways to improve learning outcomes for New Jersey students."

The legislation was sponsored by Senator Richard Codey and Assemblymembers Mila Jasey, Valerie Vainieri Huttle, and Carol Murphy.

Adolescents are not getting enough sleep to live up to their full academic potential, and early school start times are to blame, said Codey. He added that numerous studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association say that early school start times conflict with the physical and psychological growth of adolescents.

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