Legislation in New Jersey proposes later start times for high schoolers

By Nick Caloway

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    CHATHAM, New Jersey (WCBS) — Some students in New Jersey could be getting extra sleep in the morning thanks to a push to start high school classes later.

Experts and lawmakers say the move will help with grades and could even boost mental health for teenagers.

Sleeping in sounds pretty good to students at Chatham High School.

“It’s a good idea,” a sophomore named Riley said.

Chatham is the latest district in New Jersey to push back start times for high schoolers. Class will begin 40 minutes later next year at 8:20 a.m.

“No, yeah, like, I literally get no sleep at all. So an extra hour in the morning will help because I go to bed later,” a junior named Kennedy said.

Students told CBS2’s Nick Caloway with sports and studying, they get to bed late and they’re exhausted in the morning.

“Pushing back start times is going to help us, and going to help all our grades in the end,” a junior named Shayna said.

Some state lawmakers agree.

“Your first two classes, you kind of bomb because you’re really not awake,” said former governor and current New Jersey state Sen. Richard Codey.

Codey is supporting new legislation in Trenton that would push high school start times to no earlier than 8:30 a.m. beginning in the 2024-25 school year.

Lawmakers behind the bill say ensuring students are well-rested can help address the alarming rise in student mental health issues.

“It’s the thing to do, and let’s get it on,” Codey said.

There’s also plenty of support in the medical community.

Dr. April Wazeka is a pediatric pulmonologist certified in sleep medicine at Goryeb Children’s Hospital at Morristown Medical Center. She said the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has been recommending later start times for years.

“So sleep in teenagers is very important. It’s an important stage of brain development. But we know that in the teenage years, your circadian rhythm, your day/night cycle, shifts. And teenagers tend to stay up later and want to sleep in later,” Wazeka said.

Some student-athletes at Chatham High did say that with a later start time, they’ll have to practice and do homework later, meaning they push the whole cycle back and still end up exhausted in the morning.

The bill to start high school later would need support from the state Senate and Assembly, and it would need approval from Gov. Phil Murphy.

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