LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An effort to push back high school start times by one hour in Nevada has been revived.
The proposed change was criticized by several Nevada school districts, including the Clark County School District, and would have pushed school start times to 8 a.m. or later.
“Our role as an education system is to ensure that students get a good education,” said Felicia Ortiz, president of the Nevada State Board of Education. “That means also taking care of their mental, emotional health, and safety.”
The initial proposal was met with the threat of legal action from CCSD, where 62 schools start classes before 8 a.m.
“CCSD will take all steps, including litigation, to prevent any ultra vires decision on this particular issue,” said Luke Puschnig, then general counsel for CCST, at a Sept. 2023 Nevada Board of Education meeting.
Puschnig said the board didn’t have the legal authority to make the change. Nevada’s Legislative Council Bureau agreed.
“Our next step now is to draft the language and get a bill draft into the legislature,” Ortiz said.
The proposed change received overwhelming support in a statewide survey of 12,500 respondents, citing better sleep schedules and improved mental health and alertness.
“More sleep, better health for teens,” one respondent said.
“Students are zombies at 7 a.m.,” another added.
Opponents worried that the new schedules might make for a difficult adjustment for students and that working parents could suffer from the change.
“Parents work early and need to drop kids off,” a respondent said.
“I still believe that there’s a way to get there even though it is a massive change and potentially a cost,” Ortiz said. “It’s the right thing to do for kids.”
It’s a change that will be in the hands of Nevada lawmakers when they return to Carson City in Feb. 2025.
