RAND STUDY: Later School Start Time Make Economic Sense

HEALTHY SCHOOL HOURS MAKE ECONOMIC SENSE

Every community, large or small, can find many, often hundreds of, ways to run schools at later, healthier hours. Some of these ways may involve re-routing or adding buses, and sometimes this will involve one-time or even recurrent costs. However, every community that has made healthy hours a priority has found a way to change schedules in a cost-efficient way, whether or not new bus costs were involved. Communities that have put student health and well-being first have found a variety of creative solutions, sometimes even saving money in the process. Below are just a few examples:

Other "out-of-box" solutions are out there, including, but not limited to:

Santa Rosa County (FL) school district saved millions when it changed to later school start times in 2006. High schools start between 9 and 9:25 a.m. Elementary schools start at 7:30 a.m. This is a very highly ranked Florida public school system with competitive (football district champion!) athletic teams.

The Wilton (CT) School District maintained its three-tiered bus schedule (which is generally thought to save money), and achieved a more appropriate starting time for teenagers by flipping the upper elementary start, at 8:15 a.m., with the 7:35 a.m middle school/high school start.

Schools in Moore County, NC created a dual-route bus system in 2009 in which elementary schools and high schools share buses on separate routes. School officials estimate that the changes save about $700,000 a year. The plan shifted high school start times 45 minutes later, with school beginning at 9 am and dismissing at 4 p.m.

West Des Moines School District in IA found a way to start high schools later by reducing the number of buses needed, saving the district $700,000 annually.

In the Mahtomedi School District (MN), high schools found a way to start 35 minutes later by shortening passing periods, another no cost solution. An added bonus: no impact on after-school activities, better attendance, and less sleeping in class.

Jessamine County, KY moved its high school start from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. without adding bus drivers. Middle schools now start at 8:50 a.m. and elementary schools at 8 a.m.

Arlington, VA changed high school start times from 7:30 a.m. to 8:19 a.m. without increased expenditure of resources.

Fairfax County Public Schools in VA have been provided with both low-cost and no-cost options to move their high school start times to 8:00 a.m. or later by an independent consultant. In fall 2014 they chose a plan costing $4.9 million, a cost amounting to about 27 cents per student.

Every single public school in Ohio that switched to later hours due to sleep research (with the exception of Parma, which did so primarily to save money) did so at no cost, or, in some cases, cost savings.

Consolidating busing to provide service more efficiently where it is actually being used

Providing sidewalks, safer paths, and walkways to allow more students the ability to walk or bike to school during daylight hours

Allowing for online class periods or "virtual learning."

Providing elective bus service, where riders pay for bus service

Replacing private bus service with public transportation

The economic benefits to the community at large from running schools at heallthier hours also far outweigh any added transporation costs, even when they do occur. A 2017 report by the RAND Corporation found that moving all middle and high schools to 8:30 a.m. start times or later would bring enormous economic benefits to communities and states--in as little as two years:

The study suggested that delaying school start times to 8:30 a.m. is a cost-effective, population-level strategy which could have a significant impact on public health and the U.S. economy.

The study suggested that the benefits of later start times far out-weigh the immediate costs. Even after just two years, the study projects an economic gain of $8.6 billion to the U.S. economy, which would already outweigh the costs per student from delaying school start times to 8:30 a.m.

After a decade, the study showed that delaying schools start times would contribute $83 billion to the U.S. economy, with this increasing to $140 billion after 15 years. During the 15 year period examined by the study, the average annual gain to the U.S. economy would about $9.3 billion each year.

Throughout the study's cost-benefit projections, a conservative approach was undertaken which did not include other effects from insufficient sleep, such as higher suicide rates, increased obesity and mental health issues — all of which are difficult to quantify precisely. Therefore, it is likely that the reported economic benefits from delaying school start times could be even higher across many U.S. states.

RAND STUDY: LATER SCHOOL START TIMES: AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

READ RAND STUDY

"Teens don't get enough sleep, and it's not because of Snapchat, social lives or hormones -- it's because of public policy." - Wendy Troxel, Sleep Researcher

Vanessa Parsons

Director of Policy and Advocacy

Start School Later New York

Start School Later

parsonsv@live.com

Max Van Gilder MD

State Coordinator

Start School Later New York

Start School Later

max.sslny@icloud.com

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

― Maya Angelou

Start School Later, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works at local, state, and national levels to raise awareness about and advocate for safe and healthy school hours. Start School Later, StartSchoolLater.net, and the Start School Later logo are the trademarks of Start School Later, Inc. and are used here with permission. The statements made here by the New York State chapter are not necessarily those of Start School Later, Inc.