Should the school day start later? It's complicated.

Research says school start times post-8:30 a.m. are better for sleep-deprived adolescents, but the financial and logistical hurdles are hard to ignore

Schoolgirl holding books
Teenagers need between eight to 10 hours of sleep each night, more than their adult counterparts.
(Image credit: H. Armstrong Roberts / Getty Images)

For years, weary-eyed tween and teenaged students — particularly those in middle school and high school — have filed into their respective educational buildings somewhere between 7:15 and 8:00 a.m., at times before the sun has even risen to greet them. But a growing body of medical research has begun to poke holes in that status quo, as scientists investigate how exactly rest (and a lack thereof) can affect the nation's sleep-deprived pupils. Should teenage students, who require more shuteye than their adult counterparts, be forced to learn on a schedule that seemingly ignores their needs? It is an ongoing academic discussion and flashpoint, as cyclical as the school year itself, and one that touches on issues of public health, child care and the question of around who, exactly, schooling in the U.S. is meant to revolve.

When did we start talking about school start times?

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.