Mission

Start School Later is a coalition of health professionals, sleep scientists, educators, parents, students, and other concerned citizens dedicated to increasing public awareness about the relationship between sleep and school hours and to ensuring school start times compatible with health, safety, education, and equity.


Goals

Our immediate goal is to present our national petition to legislate a minimum earliest start time to decision-makers in Washington, DC.  We started delivering the petition in person to key legislators in March 2012.  We have continued presenting our petition to policy makers and agencies in an ongoing series of deliveries called "Wake Up Wednesdays."

Our long-term goals are to:

1. Advocate for legislation to ensure evidence-based school hours at the national, state and local level
2. Provide support and guidance to local communities working for later school start times
3. Serve as an information clearinghouse by collecting and consolidating information and data about school start times and efforts to change them
4. Build public understanding about the relationship between sleep, school start times, and physical, psychological, and educational well-being.