We had a debate in our district about start times, and there were a myriad of factors.

Working parents was one factor. Most people need to get their kids on the bus or dropped off before work.

Bussing was another hurdle. The High School busses needed to be done in time to do the Middle School and Elementary School runs, which means most of the drivers were running three to five routes every morning. It's true, your teen might not need supervision in the morning, but your second grader shouldn't be home alone waiting for the bus.

The factor I didn't anticipate was after school activities. If your kid plays outdoor sports, you need classes to be over early enough to have enough daylight left for practices. One of the suggestions that was discussed was having the elementary schools start before the high school, but that did not leave enough time after school. Even the indoor activities would go too long into the evening for the kids to get their homework done.

There are a lot more factors, but those were the ones that surprised me.

Heck, we have summer vacations because school kids used to be needed on the farm and then because it was too expensive to air condition the schools.

In a "scientific" world, we'd reevaluate education and make changes all the time, but people are tied to their traditions and don't want to think that the older folks had an inferior education.

School starts at 8:30am and ends at 2:30pm. Most people work 8am-5pm as a standard shift. These things do not coordinate well.

This seems to be talking about high school though. I don't know that childcare issues apply at that point.

Here in texassss, first class time would be irrelevant as anything related to sports or music is gonna start at six in the morning and it isn't considered a class.

Studies have repeatedly shown that teens go to bed around the same time no matter what time they have to wake up.

Biology is the reason, not choice. During those ages their circadian rhythm is set a few hours later.

It generally changes as we age to going to bed earlier and waking up earlier in the morning.

In humans evolutionary history, we've almost always been around large nocturnal predators. Having staggered sleep cycles that allow some members of the group to be awake and on guard is and important adaptation.

In today's society with our strict time schedules, it's a maladaptation.

I think an important part of the conversation is that most teens have a different circadian rhythm.

Ideally, the schools start late enough that teens can go to bed at midnight or 1 AM and still have enough time to get the sleep they need. Instead of school ending at 2 or 3 o'clock in the US, why not end at 5pm and make the start time later?

I think more the point, and I know math is hard, why not subtract 9 hours from when you have to wake up and make that bed time?

Whatever happened to buses and sidewalks?

There’s always cocaine.