Davis District Considering Starting School Later To Help Students

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Sacramento-area students start school as early as 7:15 a.m., but that could change starting next year in one school district.

The Davis Unified School District is considering delaying start times at middle and high schools by as much as 45 minutes.

The average start time in the area is 8 a.m., but at Davis High, it starts at 7:45 a.m. That could change with a proposal changing the time to 8:30 a.m.

A later start could spell success in the classroom for student athletes like Drew Benner.

"It would definitely let me focus more and probably let me intake information better," he said.

An August study released by the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends middle- and high-school students start at 8:30 a.m. or later. It found teenagers are programmed to sleep from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., and linked the extra sleep to better overall performance.

Benner's mom Wendy likes the idea of more sleep, but wants to take a red pen to part of the idea.

"I don't know if that means eliminating an elective that they don't necessarily need to graduate or if it means they would extend their day," she said. "And to me, obviously a later start time is fantastic, but only if that means they get to go to bed a little bit earlier the night before."

Davis Unified now has a 29-member later-start committee in place gathering feedback on a potential schedule change.

School board president Alan Fernandes says the impact on after-school sports and transportation seem to be the biggest concerns so far.

"Studies show that the brain is in a better position to learn when a child has gotten better and more sleep," he said. "Also from a health and wellness perspective, which we think is as important in impacting learning."

And while the debate will continue to ring, Drew Benner hopes administrators will pencil in a decision by his junior year.

"I'd like to see this soon," he said. "I like my sleep and I just think it would be very, very helpful."

The committee will present its findings and proposal to the school board in April. If a change is approved, it would likely start next school year.