SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - More than 100,000 San Diego Unified School District students return to class Monday morning, but there will be some district students who will get to sleep in later than they have in the past.
For the majority of SD Unified schools, classes will typically begin just before 8 a.m. Starting this school year, classes at San Diego School for the Creative and Performing Arts, La Jolla High School, and Muirlands Middle School will begin at 8:35 a.m. as part of the district’s “Healthy Start Times” initiative.
Sixteen district high schools will have later start times -- anywhere between 8:35 a.m. to 9:05 a.m. -- beginning in the 2020-21 school year.
RELATED: San Diego Unified School District parent guide
SD Unified officials say the decision to change start times was based on research that shows children’s sleep needs change around puberty age, when they start to need more sleep, and later start times help ensure students get the rest they need.
The district looked at studies in cities like Denver and Seattle which found that kids got an extra 30 to 60 minutes of sleep when start times for school were pushed later, despite the concern that kids might just go to bed later.
