New Jersey Officials Look For Feedback On Later Start Times For Students
By Justin Udo and Trang Do
BLACKWOOD, Nj. (CBS) -- School students in New Jersey may soon be able to sleep in a little longer before heading to class.
Officials with the New Jersey Department of Education held the first of three public meetings Monday at Camden County College to see what parents, educators, and students think about later start times for the middle and high school classes.
"Legislature passed legislation to have the Department of Education gather information about late start times, and then present a report as to wether or not they should pass a pilot program, which would get some school districts to push back their start times or maybe play around with different scheduling," said David Saenz with the the New Jersey Department of Education.
Saenz says even though no one came out to share their opinion at the first meeting, they have two more scheduled to take place over the next few weeks.
"This is again trying to get information from New Jersey folks about their opinions on possible later start times," he said, "also listening from schools that may have already had later start times."
"The studies have shown that if you can delay start times by an hour, students will sleep the extra hour and that should help out many different areas," said Dr. David Cohen of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Chestnut Hill Hospital.
Cohen said a later school start time is definitely worth considering.
"By not obtaining enough sleep, it can cause a lot of problems," he said. "It can cause a higher risk of motor vehicle accidents, potentially more childhood obesity, impaired performance in school, sleepiness in general."
"I get up with my child in the morning and as the years have progressed, I have to get up earlier and earlier and I would appreciate that extra hour of sleep," said Diane Cheeseman of Blackwood.
Mike Fosler of Pine Hill is the father of a middle-schooler and feels just the opposite.
"All the activities will be pushed back," he said. "It's going to end up having children getting done later. I think there would be a lot of conflict with a lot of parents with their time schedules coming home from work."
The next hearing is Wednesday in Monroe. The final hearing is next Tuesday in Jersey City. After these hearings, the DOE study group will present the final report to the governor and legislature for review.
New Jersey Department of Education officials say they have received dozens of emails from residents sharing their opinions on later start times, and, so far, an overwhelming majority of people are in favor of them.
Click here for more information about the public meetings:
Click here for more information about later start times for New Jersey schools:
