Students petition for later start times

A group of Wake County students have started a movement to get more sleep.

The group's petition calls on Wake County schools to start school at 8:30 in the morning, which is in line with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for high schools across the country.

That's an hour later than the 7:25 a.m. start time Wake County currently has for its high schools.

While the delayed start time would allow students more sleep, Wake County Public Schools said it could cost them about $100 million.

The petition has more than 1,000 signatures, each a person in favor of pushing back the start of school an hour for Wake high-schoolers.

Organizations like Start School Later say school start times that are too early are a national public health concern.

The delay would allow students to get more sleep and to be able to focus more in school, the proponents say.

While support is growing for the idea, Wake County Public School System leaders says pushing back start times isn’t simple.

School district spokeswoman Lisa Luten said implementing a later start time for high school students would require either starting all grade levels at the same time or swapping the start time with elementary students.

She said if the district started all grade levels at the same time, it would cost about $100 million to recruit an additional 1400 bus drivers, and the system would need to triple the number of buses.

The district cut $25 million from its budget last year, she said.

A Wake County mom and former head of the group that wants to delay school start time says that may not be necessary.

“You did not have to add bus drivers on, and the buses did not change with having a different school start time,” Neela Patel said. “It is a common misconception that you have to have everyone start at a later time.”

And even if the delay did cost $100 million, Patel argues that it would be worth it.

“Initially, I think, yes, it would be expensive,” Patel said. “But there are going to be benefits all around for the children and the economy on a long-term basis.”

Until that change is made, students and parents in support of delaying start times say they won't give up.

Luten said the district considers safety, finances and convenience for families when determining start times.

Durham Public Schools made this change in fall 2016. Middle and high schools now start later, and elementary schools begin earlier

Durham Public Schools spokesman Chip Sudderth said that the change has worked better for some families than for others and that a later start time is one of a number of factors that play into improved academic achievements.