Starting School Later Helps Teens
Prior to the 86th Legislature, two students from Pasadena High School and I testified in Austin during a hearing of the Texas Senate Select Committee on Violence in Schools and School Security. We challenged Sen. Larry Taylor and members of the committee to examine the hours teens are expected to attend school daily to ensure a healthy school culture.
In Texas, only 12 percent of school districts start high school at 8:30 a.m. or later as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and numerous other health and education groups. The school where I used to teach begins instruction at 7:15 a.m. Teachers arrive by 6:45 a.m.
As part of the testimony, Houston-area pediatrician Dr. Binal Kancherla and sleep-research psychologist Dr. Sara Nowakowski submitted letters recommending a later school start time as part of the testimony. The research on adolescent sleep is clear on two points:
In 2007, when Pasadena ISD announced a change of school start time from 7:50 a.m. to 7:15 a.m., I started reading research on teen sleep deprivation. I learned that adolescents, who need nine to 10 hours of sleep per night, experience a biologically delayed sleep cycle at puberty, preventing most from falling asleep before 11 p.m. even with the best sleep hygiene. If they have to wake up at 5 or 6 a.m. to get ready for school, teens are only getting six to seven hours of sleep nightly.
Teen sleep deprivation is exacerbated when teens stay up even later doing homework on their computers, using other electronic devices, or dealing with personal or family issues. It is important for school districts to teach sleep hygiene using existing health and biology curricula, to consider limiting AP classes, and to inform parents about setting an electronic device curfew for their students. School districts should also realize the discriminatory and economic factors of students’ getting the right quantity and quality of sleep to ensure equity in education.
A colleague and I presented this adolescent sleep research to the local school board back in 2007 and petitioned to leave the school start time as it was; however, our concerns were ignored.
In 2015, one of my student athletes collapsed and died on the school running track. I started asking students how many hours of sleep they received. I was flabbergasted to hear answers ranging from four to six hours nightly! By the end of the week, these students have a sleep debt of 10 to 15 hours. Adolescent sleep deprivation has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, reduced immune functioning, and aggressive forms of cancer. A school survey confirmed that only 11 percent of students were getting the minimum eight hours of sleep.
For support and educational resources, I decided to join Start School Later (SSL), a national nonprofit organization with more than 125 chapters in 30 states. As the Houston-area chapter leader, I work to bring awareness of teen sleep deprivation and the need for healthy school hours to Houston-area districts, which collectively have the state’s earliest start times.
Houston ISD, the largest school district in Texas, and Goose Creek CISD returned to healthy school hours for their middle and high schools in 2017. My vision is to see all middle schools and high schools in Texas follow suit to ensure our students’ health, safety, and academic success.
Rep. Ana Hernandez of Houston sponsored the Healthy School Hours Bill (HB 1602). The bill would have ensured instruction for all Texas public schools not begin before 8 a.m. Early school start times cause many Texas students to walk, bike, take the bus, or drive to school in the dark. Setting reasonable parameters is a matter of public health and safety and would make it easier for local districts to prioritize the health and well-being of students and communities alike when particular schedules are set.
Other SSL chapter leaders and I testified before the House Public Education Committee along with a Santa Fe High School student. Despite support from ATPE, the National Alliance on Mental Illness–Texas, the Texas Pediatric Society, the Center for Public Policy Priorities, the Texas School Health Advisory Committee, and the League of Women Voters, HB 1602 was left pending in the House Education Committee.
As a society, we are realizing the need to protect the sleep of air traffic controllers, pilots, and truck drivers, but we are doing nothing to protect the sleep of children. School start times should not be based on adult convenience or transportation budgets but on providing safe and healthy parameters for our children to fulfill their potential.
Yen Huynh Rabe now teaches French at Chavez High School, where the start time is 8:30 a.m. An ATPE member, she ran for her local school board in May 2019.
For more information regarding healthy school hours, see startschoollater.net.
In Texas, only 12 percent of school districts start high school at 8:30 a.m. or later as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and numerous other health and education groups. The school where I used to teach begins instruction at 7:15 a.m. Teachers arrive by 6:45 a.m.
As part of the testimony, Houston-area pediatrician Dr. Binal Kancherla and sleep-research psychologist Dr. Sara Nowakowski submitted letters recommending a later school start time as part of the testimony. The research on adolescent sleep is clear on two points:
- School start times are the primary factor determining how much sleep teenagers get.
- Early high school start times result in chronic sleep deprivation in teens, which increases risk of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, and violence.
In 2007, when Pasadena ISD announced a change of school start time from 7:50 a.m. to 7:15 a.m., I started reading research on teen sleep deprivation. I learned that adolescents, who need nine to 10 hours of sleep per night, experience a biologically delayed sleep cycle at puberty, preventing most from falling asleep before 11 p.m. even with the best sleep hygiene. If they have to wake up at 5 or 6 a.m. to get ready for school, teens are only getting six to seven hours of sleep nightly.
Teen sleep deprivation is exacerbated when teens stay up even later doing homework on their computers, using other electronic devices, or dealing with personal or family issues. It is important for school districts to teach sleep hygiene using existing health and biology curricula, to consider limiting AP classes, and to inform parents about setting an electronic device curfew for their students. School districts should also realize the discriminatory and economic factors of students’ getting the right quantity and quality of sleep to ensure equity in education.
A colleague and I presented this adolescent sleep research to the local school board back in 2007 and petitioned to leave the school start time as it was; however, our concerns were ignored.
In 2015, one of my student athletes collapsed and died on the school running track. I started asking students how many hours of sleep they received. I was flabbergasted to hear answers ranging from four to six hours nightly! By the end of the week, these students have a sleep debt of 10 to 15 hours. Adolescent sleep deprivation has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, reduced immune functioning, and aggressive forms of cancer. A school survey confirmed that only 11 percent of students were getting the minimum eight hours of sleep.
For support and educational resources, I decided to join Start School Later (SSL), a national nonprofit organization with more than 125 chapters in 30 states. As the Houston-area chapter leader, I work to bring awareness of teen sleep deprivation and the need for healthy school hours to Houston-area districts, which collectively have the state’s earliest start times.
Houston ISD, the largest school district in Texas, and Goose Creek CISD returned to healthy school hours for their middle and high schools in 2017. My vision is to see all middle schools and high schools in Texas follow suit to ensure our students’ health, safety, and academic success.
The Connection Between Sleep and Mental Health
Teen mental health and safety were priorities for the 86th Legislature following the mass shooting in Santa Fe ISD. Start School Later Texas and its individual chapters advocated that beginning the school day in the eight o'clock hour and acknowledging teen biology must be part of the conversation when addressing student mental health. A study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence found that each hour of sleep loss in teens is associated with a 38 percent increase in the risk of feeling sad or hopeless and a 58 percent increase in suicide attempts.Rep. Ana Hernandez of Houston sponsored the Healthy School Hours Bill (HB 1602). The bill would have ensured instruction for all Texas public schools not begin before 8 a.m. Early school start times cause many Texas students to walk, bike, take the bus, or drive to school in the dark. Setting reasonable parameters is a matter of public health and safety and would make it easier for local districts to prioritize the health and well-being of students and communities alike when particular schedules are set.
Other SSL chapter leaders and I testified before the House Public Education Committee along with a Santa Fe High School student. Despite support from ATPE, the National Alliance on Mental Illness–Texas, the Texas Pediatric Society, the Center for Public Policy Priorities, the Texas School Health Advisory Committee, and the League of Women Voters, HB 1602 was left pending in the House Education Committee.
As a society, we are realizing the need to protect the sleep of air traffic controllers, pilots, and truck drivers, but we are doing nothing to protect the sleep of children. School start times should not be based on adult convenience or transportation budgets but on providing safe and healthy parameters for our children to fulfill their potential.
Yen Huynh Rabe now teaches French at Chavez High School, where the start time is 8:30 a.m. An ATPE member, she ran for her local school board in May 2019.
For more information regarding healthy school hours, see startschoollater.net.
Author: Yen Huynh Rabe, Houston ISD