Dozens of Montgomery County parents and students staged a "sleep-in" outside the county's Board of Education ahead of a vote to delay school start times.
Several options are under consideration for high schools, middle schools and elementary schools. Proposals range from keeping times the same to starting high schools more than an hour later. Montgomery County Public high schools currently start at 7:25 a.m.
Last June, outgoing Superintendant Dr. Joshua Starr recommended against delaying the school day due costs -- apprixmately $21 million. The school board had agreed, but ordered Starr come back with lower cost options, which now range from zero to $6 million. The main expense comes from adjusting busing schedules. The costlier options may be less viable now that Md. Gov. Larry Hogan cut millions in funding to education.
"We got about 1,200 emails and about a third of them, people were not in favor of changing bell times, and two-thirds were in favor of it," Montgomery County Public Schools spokesperson Dana Tofig said. "Surveys done by employees' associations are not in favor of changing bell times."
The school board is set to vote on the issue Tuesday, which is why dozens gathered in pajama pants Monday night in protest to delay start times.
"When you're really tired, you get dark circles under your eyes," student Theresa Davison said. "We used lipstick to paint circles to show how exhausted we are."
Teenagers' sleep patterns usually occur at later times than those of adults and children, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Teens may need as many as nine hours of sleep a night, and may have difficulty falling asleep before 11 p.m.
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As a consequence, adolescents who are sleep-deprived often show a decline in academic performance, are more likely to be involved in a car accident and suffer from mental health problems, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP recommends that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.
