The amended bill “LD 396” ("An Act to Provide for a Later Starting Time for High Schools") has recently been passed by the Maine House of Representatives stating that it would “establish a grant program to encourage schools to adopt start times at 8:30 a.m. or later” (“Legislative recap for Wednesday”). The grant program is a one-time fund of about $106,078 to school administrator units to help them start the process of implementing later start times into their schools (“132nd Maine Legislature”). This bill is anticipated to be enacted for the 2026-2027 school year, which is a recent development that many are unaware of. Ms. Peggy Splaine, a former school board member says: “We have years of research that students need to start school at 8:30 or even 9 a.m.  Students are not gaining the education they deserve with the current start time of 7:30.” Splaine also includes her support of the bill and the science behind why later starting times are helpful to students. 

During 2020-2023 our school had a period early in the morning that allowed students to sleep in, or come in early to sort out any homework for early classes. We called it “Academy period” and many student-athletes found it useful, as long games the night before made it hard to get up in the morning, and having extra time to sleep helped them have an extra hour or so in bed. National track qualifier Karen Higgins says, “Getting more sleep after practice and events…would benefit all student-athletes.”  

Currently, we have changed our schedule back to the “normal” 7:30 a.m. start time, or officially 8 a.m. for classes to start. Students who live in Edgecomb or Southport usually wake around six in the morning (or earlier) to get ready and on the bus. Cameron Payson, who lives in Southport, states, “I wake up at 6:30 a.m. so I can sleep in as much as possible before I have to get on my bus. I get to school around 7:25 a.m. every morning, and most of the time I fall asleep on the bus because I'm exhausted.” This means that some students arrive here before the official start time of school.  

The change in our schedule from “Academy” to “Seahawk Block” was made primarily to allow more students to get help from teachers, including those who attend morning and afternoon Bath Vocational School. In reality, the morning Bath Tech students usually arrive at the very end of Seahawk Block, giving them no time to get the extra help they may need.  

If we return to a later start time, providing bus transportation for everyone will be a challenge as the bill LD 396 will impact only “secondary schools” which are high schools. This separates “the big kids” and the “little kids.” Since parents can’t leave their younger children alone at home to go to work early in the morning, the younger kids may need a whole other bus run to get them in earlier than the middle school and high school students who may have the new 8:30 time schedule. This issue is one that continues to impact the school today, as high school students may leave earlier than the elementaryschool, and will have to wait until the “normal school day ending time” to get on the bus. Ms. Peggy Splaine adds, “If we employ bus drivers full- time we should be able to set up a schedule that would work for everyone…That also makes employment with us as a bus driver more enticing.” Currently, the bus drivers are working part-time, and the school is always looking for more bus drivers. If we changed the bus drivers’ jobs to full-time, we may see an increase in drivers and bus availability to both the high school and elementary school. 

Although I understand the challenges that a later start creates–such as later extracurriculars, changes to people’s daily schedules, and extra bus runs–these cons do not outweigh the pros. Sleep is a necessary aspect of our student's health, as not getting enough sleep is tied to many risks in teens. Quoted in the Portland Press Herald, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states, “Not getting enough sleep…is associated with several health risks, including being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance.” While academic performance is the main reason many other schools are changing their starting times, the academic performance argument isn’t the only valid reason to make the change. 

Of the 78 students who answered my survey question–“Do you believe that students would benefit from sleeping in? Yourself included?” –93.6% answered “yes.” The BRHS student body agrees that additional sleep is beneficial, but most are worried about a later end to the school day, and how it would impactextracurriculars. In a Portland Press Herald article, the CDC states: “adolescents become sleepy later at night and need to sleep later in the morning as a result of shifts in biological rhythms.” Despite the late end of school due to this change, this would allow our students to align with their biological rhythms more properly. Around 53.8% of our students said they usually get 7-8 hours of sleep, while 35.9% of our students said they get 5-6 hours, which is way below the 8-10 hours recommended that they should be getting.  

Overall, later starts would offer our students more benefits to their education and health, as teens need more sleep in the morning to develop physically, mentally, and socially. I urge our school committee to consider the science-backed merit for our students of a change to a later start time. 

Works Cited 

132nd Maine Legislature, 4 February 2025, https://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0182&item=1&snum=132. Accessed 6 June 2025. 

Claffey, Jason. “Bath-area schools considering later high school start time.” The Portland Press Herald, 29 November 2023, https://www.pressherald.com/2023/11/29/bath-area-schools-considering-later-high-school-start-time/. Accessed 8 June 2025. 

“Education and Cultural Affairs.” https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=SP0182&item=2&snum=132. Accessed 10 June 2025. 

“Legislative recap for Wednesday, June 4.” Maine Morning Star, 4 June 2025, https://mainemorningstar.com/2025/06/04/legislative-recap-for-wednesday-june-4/. Accessed 6 June 2025.