What Time Should School Start In Montgomery County?

Students and parents at Owen J. Roberts School District are pushing for a later start time, reportedly citing evidence that current start times are leading to sleep deprivation in teens.

Classes presently begin at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2:15 p.m.

This is too early, the local parents argued, according to a Pottstown Mercury report:

The speakers, including three parents, a doctor and one teen, suggested changing to a start time no earlier than 8:30 a.m., based on a 2014 recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

(A) parent...argued that because of changes in their circadian rhythms, “the typical teen can’t get to sleep before 11:00 p.m. and can’t get up before 8 a.m.”

When teens are required to be in class by 7:30 a.m., “It’s virtually impossible."

It's not the first time the issue has come up in Montgomery County in recent months, as several local school boards have discussed the issue.

Teenagers who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to use drugs and alcohol, be overweight and underperform academically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. The center recommends at least 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep per night, and that schools should start at 8:30 a.m. at the earliest.

But that’s not exactly happening across America.

Later start times are facing battles from school boards over logistical and financial issues. Fewer than one in five middle and high schools in the United States begin classes later than 8:30, according to a study released last summer by the CDC that has given supporters of later start times additional ammo for their fight.