COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Be a Youth Advisor for Pasadena Police Department
2020 Pasadena Showcase House Selected in Arcadia
Page 4
Page 3
Go to SierraMadreWeekly.com for Sierra Madre Specific News THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17 - OCTOBER 23, 2019
Local. Relevant. Trusted.
Since 1996
VOL. 23,, NO. 41
CALIFORNIA BECOMES FIRST IN THE COUNTRY TO MANDATE THAT HIGH SCHOOLS AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS START LATER IN THE MORNING
Students will soon no longer be bleary-eyed when they go to school. – File photo by Terry Miller / Beacon Media News
Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
“O
ur kids win today as State Senator Anthony J. Portantino’s (D – La Cañada Flintridge) school start time bill SB 328 has been signed by Governor Gavin Newsom,” Portantino’s press release stated. Senator Portantino has been in pursuit of a later school start time for years, having seen firsthand the effects of sleepy-eyed kids trying to stay awake in morning classes that start at 7 a.m. For many students that start time meant skipping breakfast and getting ready for school
before the sun even rises. The new law will take effect over a phasedin period, ultimately requiring middle schools to begin classes at 8 a.m. or later while high schools will start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. The law apparently doesn’t apply to optional early classes, known as “zero periods.” While school schedules vary, a legislative analysis in July found that roughly half the schools in the state will be required to delay their start times by 30 minutes or less to comply with the law. An analysis of the 20112012 school year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the average start time for California schools attended by some 3 million middle school and high school students was 8:07 a.m. Some of the state’s students were
required to be in class before 7:30 a.m. California will become the first state in the country to mandate that high schools and middle schools start later in the morning. The bill is based on over three decades of research on teen health, sleep patterns and brain chemistry. SB 328 seeks to align school start times with the biology of teens. Overwhelming research shows that when the school day starts later, children are significantly healthier and perform better in school. The California PTA sponsored and supported SB 328. While pediatricians and researchers from across the country united behind the bill, it faced stiff opposition. That opposition led to a veto from Gov. Brown last year. This year, Gov. Newsom “appropriately” saw things differ-
ently and put children’s health and welfare at the forefront of education policy, according to Portantio’s office. “Today, Governor Newsom displayed a heartwarming and discerning understanding of the importance of objective research and exercised strong leadership as he put our children’s health and welfare ahead of institutional bureaucracy resistant to change. Generations of children will come to appreciate this historic day and our Governor for taking bold action. Our children face a public health crisis. Shifting to a later start time will improve academic performance and save lives because it helps our children be healthier. The SEE LATE START PAGE 11