SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City High School students will be able to enjoy an extra hour of sleep starting next fall, thanks to a unanimous decision made by the Salt Lake City School Board on Tuesday.
Beginning in the Fall, East, West and Highland High School classes will begin at 8:45 and end at 3 p.m. Currently, classes start at 7:45.
Board members debated how much to push time back in order to take into account students who have jobs, siblings or after school clubs.
"I am very in support of watching and measuring how it does support our students." Salt Lake City School Board President Melissa Ford said. "I want to hear how it affects our students who are trying to get to afternoon shifts at jobs or after school activities. I really do trust that those are problems that can be solved as they come up if they come up because I do believe the benefit outweighs that concern."
Board members hope that students will be able to take advantage of the new schedule and get more sleep before class.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the district has been studying this issue for over a year and has heard from parents who said they believe a later start would be beneficial for their students mental health.
that Logan City School District is the only other district in Northern Utah with a start time that begins after 8 a.m., the decision to move their high school start time was made in 2017. Jordan School District has an optional online program where some high schoolers can come to class at 9 a.m., the Tribune reports.
With the new plan, all middle schools would be moved to 8 a.m. starts and elementary schools would be assigned a start time at either 8 a.m. or 8:45 a.m. Their schedules will be determined in the coming months.
