Last Updated: February 4, 2025

Resources and Information

What Is a Resolution?

• A Formalized Implementation Plan:

A resolution represents the official viewpoint of the PTA/MCCPTA or National PTA on a particular issue affecting children and youth, based on research and member consensus.

• An Advocacy tool:

Resolutions are tools used to push for legislative changes, operational or policy changes or specific actions to benefit students.

• A Guiding Document:

Resolutions codify the purpose for the decision and the success criteria that will be achieved in the end state. It serves as enterprise-wide communication of the goal.

Resolutions ensure that all components of MCPS and the community can move forward in unison, with operations and policies consistent with this goal instead of in a piecemeal fashion that fails to connect the dots.

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What a Resolution is Not?

• A Resolution is NOT a Detailed Implementation Plan:

Once MCCPTA enacts a Resolution we can share it with MCPS and the Superintendent for them to work on with us and to act on to implement change for the benefit of our students.

• MCPS Will Need to Develop an Implementation Plan:

Given the nature of bus transportation and privacy considerations, only MCPS has the date needed upon which to develop a plan. Sadly, their most recent transportation study, privately contracted for, indicates that critical information in regard to student transportation is missing/lacking.

By enacting a resolution, MCCPTA wants to be sure our preferences are included in implementing a solution.

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Proposed Healthy Sleep Resolution

V 3 – Revised and edited with plain language

Proposed MCCPTA Resolution: Healthy Sleep for Adolescents

Whereas, as children grow into teens, their natural sleep patterns change. Teens need more sleep, often can't fall asleep before 11:00 PM, and do best when they can sleep for at least 8 hours; and

Whereas, teens need 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night, research shows that most U.S. teens get fewer than 8 hours on school nights caused by too early school start times relative to their biologically driven sleep cycles; and

Whereas, studies show that teens who get enough sleep do better in school, but things like homework, busy schedules, poor sleep habits, and early school start times can interfere with bed time and make it hard for them to get the sleep they need, thereby interfering with their ability to learn and perform in school and elsewhere; and

Whereas, teaching parents, students, and schools about healthy sleep habits and creating supportive school policies can help reduce problems caused by sleep deprivation, such as being late, missing school, or having trouble focusing. This awareness and supportive policy change can improve student school performance; and

Whereas, research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that not getting enough sleep puts teens at risk for car accidents from drowsy driving, depression and thoughts of self-harm, risky behaviors like unsafe sexual activity, and substance use, and long-term health problems like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes that occur later in life; and

Whereas, evidence shows that early school start times make it harder for teens to get enough sleep, this problem can be fixed by starting school later; and

Whereas, starting school later has been shown to help teens get enough sleep, improving their physical and mental health, safety, school success, and quality of life, without taking away time for sports, activities, or homework; and

Whereas, the National PTA adopted a "Healthy Sleep for Adolescents" resolution in 2017, calling for PTAs around the country to educate families, work together on solutions, include sleep education in school lessons, and encourage later school start times, so therefore be it,; and be it further

Resolved, the Montgomery County Council of PTAs (MCCPTA) will host a community town hall in 2025 to educate students, parents, teachers, coaches, school staff, and others about the importance of good sleep for teens’ health, safety, and success in school and life; and be it further

Resolved, the MCCPTA will advocate for the Montgomery County Board of Education and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) to create policies that give teens the chance to get enough sleep; and be it further

Resolved, the MCCPTA will advocate for MCPS to include information about sleep needs and patterns, the risks of not getting enough sleep, signs of sleep related difficulties and healthy sleep habits in existing health, science, physical education, and other school subjects currently being taught; and be it further

Resolved, the MCCPTA will ask MCPS to study and share information about the transportation needs, costs, and solutions for starting middle and high schools at 8:30 AM or later, while keeping elementary school start times consistent with Maryland’s Orange Ribbon for Healthy Bell Times, which says no student should start school before 8:00 AM; and be it further

Resolved, the MCCPTA will advocate to MCPS and the Board of Education that they ensure that schedule changes don’t reduce time for sports, extracurricular activities, and homework after the schedule change and childcare and other related services are included in ways that allow for continued support services to students and families; and be it further

Resolved, the MCCPTA urges MCPS to set middle and high school start times no earlier than 8:30 AM, so teens can get the sleep they need to improve their physical and mental health, safety, school success, and quality of life.

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Why Change Secondary School Start Times?

• Adolescents need 8-10 hours of sleep per night to achieve optimal health [American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP); National Sleep Foundation (NSF); Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)

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• Circadian rhythms are delayed, making it extremely difficult for teens to fall asleep prior to 11 p.m

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• We can’t change teens’ evolutionary, non-negotiable biology, but we can adjust school start times accordingly

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• Too-early school start times remain the only factor proven to be both a major and remediable contributor to teen sleep insufficiency on a population level.

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• Communities around the U.S. and the world have found ways to do this. MCPS can do so as well.

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• In recognition of this medical need, the Maryland General Assembly introduced legislation last week to change secondary school bell times State-wide SB 468/ HB 1015.

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• MCPS was a leader in changing times back in 2015, and MCPS and the community have some experience in this area

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• We want to be sure that time changes for MCPS are not only compliant with new legislation, but that they reflect what our parent body wants.

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• Last go-round MCCPTA had a limited role in the bell time change. We want to ensure that our preferences are honored this time.

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Scientific evidence that insufficient sleep adversely affects teens:

• Depressed Mood • Anxiety

• Suicidal Ideation • Decreased Emotional Regulation

• Decline in Academic Performance • Decreased Problem-Solving Ability

• Decreased Concentration • Difficulty with Memory

• Poorer Cognitive Efficiency

• Increased Weight Gain and Obesity • Increased Athletic Injuries

• Increased Motor Vehicle Crashes • Increased Risk-Taking Behavior

• Increased Substance Use and Abuse • Increased Physical Fights/Bullying

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10 Ways Later MIDDLE and HIGH SCHOOL Start Times Benefit Teens and the Community

Healthy School Hours Reduce the Achievement Gap "[D]elaying school start times by one hour, from roughly 7:30 to 8:30, increases standardized test scores by at least 2 percentile points in math and 1 percentile point in reading. The effect is largest for students with below average test scores, suggesting that laterstart times would narrow gapsin student achievement."

2. Healthy School Hours Lower Juvenile Crime Rates Juvenile Crime peaks nationwide at 3 p.m., a time that's between the end of school and when parents get home. Police support limiting unsupervised situations at this crucial time. Also, sleep deprived teens are more likely to commit crime due to low self-control. The Maryland Department of Juvenile Services supports later start and release times.

3. Healthy School Hours Help Prevent Car Crashes Drowsy driving is responsible for a significant number of fatal teen crashes. School districts with later morning start times see the teen crash rates decline.

4. Healthy School Hours Reduce Drop-Out Rates School attendance improves, tardiness decreases and graduation rates increase, which helps raise tax revenues and reduce crime and gang activity. When comparing attendance and graduation rates before and after the schools implemented a delayed starting time, the average graduation rate jumped from 79% to 88%, and the average attendance rate went from 90% to 94%.

5. Healthy School Hours Improve Health

Sleep loss has wide-ranging consequences, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Sleep deprivation reduces the immune system. With later, healthier schoolstart times, teens experience fewer sports injuries and miss fewer days of school due to illness.

6. Healthy School Hours Are Better for Mental Health Inadequate sleep is linked to depressed mood, anxiety, behavioral problems, alcohol and drug use, risky behaviors and suicidal thoughts.

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The Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2016 (YRBS) shows that 19.5% of Anne Arundel County high schoolstudentsseriously considered suicide and

16.5% made a plan to do so. The county's numbers are higher than the Maryland average. When able to sleep more:

• Teen attitudes and behavior improve

• Teensreport less depression

• Teenage need for medication decreases

(A cost-benefit analysis prepared for Fairfax County, Virginia, estimatesthat laterstart times could save the community $1.7 million a year in mental health treatment costs.)

7. Healthy School Hours Help Prevent Substance Use Increased and adequate sleep decreasesrisk taking behaviorssuch alcohol and drug use. The Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2013 showsthat Anne Arundel County high schoolstudents have higherrates ofsubstance abuse than the Maryland average across nearly all categories queried.

8. Healthy School Hours Make Streets Safer

With early school start times, many students who are eligible for school bus service opt out and instead drive to school (or are driven by family members), which leads to more cars on the road during morning rush hours. In addition, children walking to schools and bus stopsin the predawn darkness are a serious safety risk for both pedestrians and drivers.

9. Healthy School Hours Are Family-Friendly

A year afterthe city of Minneapolisimplemented laterstart times,students were getting an hour more ofsleep per school night, 92 percent of parents were happy with the change, and parentsreported improved relationships with their children.

10. Healthy School Hours Benefit the Economy

The potential costs ofschoolsstarting after 8:30 a.m. can be recouped in as little as 2-3 years, based on improved academic outcomes (thus increased lifetime earnings) and a reduction in teen drowsy driving accidents.

Sources

SOURCES: (1) http://educationnext.org/do---schools---begin---too---early/ and

http://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/legacy/files/downloads_and_links/092011_organize_jacob_rockoff_brief.pdf

(2) www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24085558 and http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2018/02/09/md-juvenile-agency-later-school-hours crime/323781002/

(3) www.geico.com/information/autosafety/safety---library/ and

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2603528/pdf/jcsm.4.6.533.pdf

(4) http://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/legacy/files/downloads_and_links/092011_organize_jacob_rockoff_brief.pdf and

http://www.sleephealthjournal.org/article/S2352-7218(17)30002-5/fulltext McKeever, PM and Clark, L. Delayed high schoolstart times than 8:30 and impact on graduation rates and attendance. Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation, 2017;3(2), 119-125.

(5) http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6430a1.htm?s_cid=mm6430a1_e and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25028798 (6) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2656315/ Bernert RA, Joiner TE. Sleep disturbances and suicide risk: A review of the literature. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2007;3(6):735---743 and https://phpa.health.maryland.gov/ccdpc/Reports/Pages/YRBS2016.aspx#AnneArundel (7) https://nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/app/Results.aspx?LID=MD and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25178930

(8) http://startschoollater.pbworks.com/w/page/60412558/Sleep%20Loss%20and%20Accidents%20or%20Injury

(9) http://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/162769/Impact%20of%20Later%20Start%20Time%20Final%20Report.pdf?sequence=1.pdf (10) https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2109.html *Maryland specific data unavailable.

Montgomery County Maryland Chapter | startschoollatermontgomery@gmail.com | startschoollater.net 2025 Update to 12-2019

Social Studies Diverse Perspectives Curriculum Nights

Curriculum nights were held during the first semester of the 2024-25 school year to inform community members about social studies instruction, how it is taught, and how Montgomery County Public Schools includes diverse perspectives in its social studies curricula.

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Black and African American History Arab Global and American History

Webinar Recording Webinar Recording

Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions

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Jewish Global and American History Asian Global and American History

Webinar Recording Webinar Recording

Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions

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Hispanic/Latine Global and American History Indigenous American History

Webinar Recording Webinar Recording

Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions

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LGBTQ+ Global and American History Español

Webinar Recording Diapositivas del seminario web

Frequently Asked Questions Grabación de seminarios web

preguntas frecuentes

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For more information visit: https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/socialstudies/

On January 13, 2025, Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor released an expanded version of the FY 2026 Proposed Operating Budget spreadsheet. This expanded version of the budget represents a commitment to increased transparency in the budgeting process and is now available online for the Montgomery County community through this link.