Schools Start Too Early

Learn how starting school later can help adolescents get enough sleep and improve their health, academic performance, and quality of life.

Not getting enough sleep is common among high school students and is associated with several health risks including being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance. One of the reasons adolescents do not get enough sleep is early school start times. The American Academy of PediatricsExternalexternal icon has recommended that middle and high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later to give students the opportunity to get the amount of sleep they need, but most American adolescents start school too early.

According to the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study [PDF 1,944 KB], 93% of high schools and 83% of middle schools in the U.S. started before 8:30 a.m.

According to an earlier CDC study that analyzed US Department of Education data from the 2011-2012 school year:

• 42 states reported that most (75%-100%) public middle and high schools started before 8:30 a.m.
• The percentage of schools starting at 8:30 a.m. or later varied greatly by state. For example,
  • No schools in Hawaii, Mississippi, and Wyoming started after 8:30 a.m.
  • Most schools in North Dakota (78%) and Alaska (76%) started after 8:30 a.m.