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Welcome to Start School Later California!

HUGE NEWS!
Governor Gavin Newsom Signs The Health School  Start Times Bill Into Law

SB 328 Update

In a show of support for science and child health, California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Senate Bill 328 (SB 328) into law. The bill, introduced by Senator Anthony Portantino, was passed by the state legislature and sent to Governor Newsom for approval. Under this new law, California’s middle schools can start required classes no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Specific scheduling within those parameters is left to local school districts, with allowances made for some rural communities. The guidelines go into effect in the 2022 school year for most districts
Why is California is Legislating Later School Start Times? Click button to find out!
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The historic Assembly Vote. 44-16! Passsed!
Start School Later California
Overwhelming Consensus from Research and Health Experts in Support of SB328

About Start School Later California

The California chapter of Start School Later is headed by Irena Keller, Ph.D., and Beth McNeill, Ph.D. 

The statewide chapter works with chapter leaders in various communities in California to help them promote awareness of the issue and bring about change in their districts.

To contact us, please fill out the contact form on this page. You can also stay up to date on our activities by liking our page on Facebook.

Chapter background
The California chapter was started by Dr. Keller in 2016. Lisa Lewis served as a chapter leader from the spring of 2017, when SB 328 was first introduced, until early 2019.

Dr. Keller founded the chapter as a way to help close the gap between science and public school policies and to improve the health and safety of public school students by advocating for more developmentally appropriate school start times. 

Dr. Keller is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology and a parent. Having done her PhD dissertation on sleep and development, she has a good grasp of the scientific understanding of sleep and its importance for development and learning. As a parent, she has come to the realization that there is a big gap between the scientific knowledge about sleep and the actual public policies and school schedules.
California now also has six local chapters:

    Contact SSL California

SB328: Hearing before the Senate Education Committee, April 19, 2017
" California schools should start their classes later. The health and learning benefits far outweigh the inconvenience of change."    - Mercury News Editorial dated August 8, 2017
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For Citations: A page on our website should be referenced as such:
Start School Later. (2023). Webpage Title. Retrieved [Month Day Year] from [URL]
e.g.,
Start School Later. (2023). What's the Big Deal? Retrieved January 3, 2023 from http://www.startschoollater.net/whats-the-big-deal.html
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Start School Later, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to healthy, safe, equitable school hours. 
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