It's not easy to initiate new programs in the midst of a budget crisis, but a group of parents in Fairfax County says now is the time to institute later start times for high schoolers in their district.
Many people in Fairfax agrees that adjusting the district's start times has its merits, including the district's chief of operations, Dean Tistadt, who is often at odds with proponents of the plan.
The idea is that teens need more sleep, and letting them start at 8:30 or 9 instead of at 7:20, as they do now, would bolster academic performance and health, and reduce truancy. But agreeing on whether flipping the bell can be done properly at a manageable cost, especially during a budget crisis, isn't as easy.
Jonathan Wilson reports...
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