WASHINGTON — Proposed changes to public school start and end times are getting a lot of attention in Montgomery County, and there’s still time to share your opinion.
To help teenagers get more sleep, the plan is to push the start of the high school day back 50 minutes, from 7:25 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
On Monday night, at the final public hearing on the plan at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, there was plenty of support for the change.
“I have a son who’s at BCC High School. I drive him to school, because he then gets a little more sleep. Because if I don’t drive him to school, he’s zombified,” said one woman who got up to speak.
The school district also wants to start middle school classes 10 minutes earlier, and extend the elementary school day by 30 minutes.
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Comments made by people attending the public hearing were written down on large pads. Written comments were also compiled at each table. (WTOP/Michelle Basch)
“I need time with her. We, as a family, need time,” she said.
More than 600 people attended four public hearings, and the school system has received hundreds of emails about the proposed changes.
The school system will continue to accept email comments at least through the end of March.
The department hopes to have a final decision made sometime this spring. The soonest bell times would change would be during the 2015-2016 school year.
Related Links:
- Montgomery Co. holds public forums on changes to school start times
- U.S. Education Secretary supports later school start times
- Later bell time proposed for Montgomery County students
- School start time discussion in Anne Arundel Co.
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