Healthy school start time

[Anonymous]

Who can get the ball rolling to advocate later high school start time? Howard County was able to make the change yes we all know it's a smaller county.. Who in MCPS took this on in the 2010s to change HS start bell from 7:25 to 7:45am?

[Anonymous]

Have you not heard of Sandra Landis?

[Anonymous]

^ Who?

[Anonymous]

There was a town hall in March:

https://bethesdamagazine.com/2025/03/28/hitting-snooze-teen-sleep-school-start-times-discussed-at-town-hall/

[Anonymous]

Some of us don’t want that. Enforce bedtime. Starting later means kids go to bed later so it fixes nothing.

[Anonymous]

1. Many don't want that, including those who's older kids have to watch the younger ones after school, those who work to help support their families, those who participate in after school activities

2. MCPS is too large, with already too many busses, to make it work

3. The premise that HS kids are getting brain damage (I think that was one of the items mentioned by the start HS later groups) is laughable.

And so much more. MCPS looked at this, made HS 20 mins later (it was all that was possible), so please, let it go and stop wasting time by bringing back what has been rejected

[Anonymous]

I assume the new hs divisions will make bus rides longer/start earlier. It's not the time to bring this up yet again.

[Anonymous]

This subject is brought up every year. The schedule never changes. Move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This subject is brought up every year. The schedule never changes. Move on.

If the 2014 group had said the same thing, they would've never been able to make it happen. If you don't care to make the change, you move on.

[Anonymous]

Those phones you pay for—set screen time limits so their phone stops working at 10pm. Your kids will go to bed sooner, I promise. It works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those phones you pay for—set screen time limits so their phone stops working at 10pm. Your kids will go to bed sooner, I promise. It works.

This did not work in my day before phones. This was a problem then too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of us don’t want that. Enforce bedtime. Starting later means kids go to bed later so it fixes nothing.

You do realize this has nothing to do with “enforc[ing] bedtime,” right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This subject is brought up every year. The schedule never changes. Move on.

If the 2014 group had said the same thing, they would've never been able to make it happen. If you don't care to make the change, you move on.

The 2014 group was trying to get the start time moved to substantially later, and after a comprehensive study that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, only managed to move it 20 minutes.

I would not support reopening this question unless someone can explain what has changed since the last time MCPS tackled this issue. If there has been a material change in the situation, let's evaluate. But if all of the factors are functionally the same, it's not worth the money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of us don’t want that. Enforce bedtime. Starting later means kids go to bed later so it fixes nothing.

You do realize this has nothing to do with “enforc[ing] bedtime,” right?

Ignorant people gonna ignore. They don't care about scientific truth or education, just need to get the kids out on the way to wor.

[Anonymous]

Keep in mind that HS students don’t have to take 7 classes a year every year. My kid’s counselor said most 11th and 12th graders are just in the building right before and after lunch for the required math and English classes.

So if a 7:45 start doesn’t work for your kid, take less classes during the school day. Take classes over the summer, online during the school year, and dual enrollment at MC