The Clark County (Nevada) School District is considering having all schools start 30 minutes later beginning next school year.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the district is asking community members in a survey whether they support the proposal and to rate the pros and cons of such a shift.
“We are asking our entire community to participate in this survey to get an accurate pulse on the topic,” Superintendent Jhone Ebert said in a news release. “We understand that any change we make to school start times impacts our employees, students, families, and even businesses across Clark County. It’s important to hear from our community.”
Under the existing bell schedule, schools in the district typically begins at 7 a.m. for high schools, 8 a.m. for middle schools and 9 a.m. for elementary schools.
The school district has cited research linking later school start times to improved sleep quality, increased academic performance and lower rates of depression, anxiety and stress among students.
School start times have long been debated as district leaders try to balance student well-being while coping with decreased funding and a limited bus fleet. More than half of all schools in Clark County saw start time adjustments in 2022, creating 7 a.m. start times for some high schools, among other changes, to ensure bus services ran on time.
In 2023, the Nevada State Board of Education sought to make all high schools begin no earlier than 8 a.m., but that effort was met with pushback from school district officials who requested those changes be made at a local level.
Clark County district buses transport about 120,000 students a day over more than 1,500 routes.
