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Don't see your state, city or country?  Click on "Start a Chapter" above to start a local chapter!

Select Your State: Alaska California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Idaho Illinois Indiana Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Missouri Montana New Jersey New York Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington State West Virginia Wisconsin

Start School Later is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit involved at local, state, and national levels to raise awareness about and advocate for safe and healthy school start times.

​We have 136 volunteer-led chapters in 3 countries, 31 US states and Washington D.C. working for developmentally appropriate school start times in their communities. We're continuing to grow as more people discover that joining forces is the most likely way to get local districts to set and ensure healthy hours!

We also have coalition partners who may have initiatives and goals that are outside the scope of Start School Later, but are complementary. 

Start School Later chapters are working to promote awareness and implement positive change at local and state levels while supporting Start School Later's national initiatives. ​

With resources and support from Start School Later, local chapters and partners have been instrumental in achievements including:

• Sponsoring landmark "Start School Later" legislation that prevents most California schools from requiring middle school students to attend class before 8 a.m. and requiring high school students to attend class before 8:30 a.m.
• Successfully influencing the Seattle Board of Education to start all high schools and all but one middle school to move start times nearly an hour later to 8:45 a.m.
• Derailing a Connecticut school board's plan to consider shifting school start times earlier.
• Joining forces in Maryland to pass two pieces of landmark legislation: 1)  requiring state health officials to conduct a study on delaying school start times and to recommend whether public schools should adopt a policy of start times at 8 a.m. or later., and 2) creating the "Orange Ribbon" certification program for districts running schools at healthy hours.
• Uniting several local districts and a private school in Southern Maine to change all of their middle and high schools bell times to 8:30 a.m. or later.
• Convincing state education and health organization in Massachusetts to issue position statements supporting later start times.
• Influencing all 12 regional superintendents in the Middlesex League (MA) to issue a joint statement supporting a move to start times between 8-8:30 a.m.
• Successfully influencing a local school board in Greenfield, WI to push school start times 20 minutes later.
• Successfully influencing Montgomery County MD schools to move high school start times 20 minutes later.
• Successfully influencing schools in East Greenwich, RI to commit to a later high school bell time.
• Successfully influencing the school district in North Olmsted, OH to reverse a recent change to earlier school start times.
• Introducing legislation for later school start times in Virginia, California, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts
• Getting local school boards from Maine to Florida to Texas to Wisconsin to Washington state to create task forces on later school start times
• Sponsoring presentations to local parents, teachers, students, school administrators, health officials, and education leaders about sleep and healthy school hours using Start School Later materials
• Working with student leaders in Columbia, Missouri to get their local school board to not only stop a move to earlier high school start times but to actually start the high school later.
• Working with the Florida American Academy of Pediatrics to endorse starting high schools no earlier than 8 a.m.​

We are thrilled to introduce two international local chapters of Start School Later!

• Brazil - Start School Later Brasil - Movimento por mudanças nos horários escolares
• Japan - Start School Later Tokyo

As the rest of the world wakes up to the need for healthy and safe school start times for all students, we can serve as a resource near and far.

Advantages of Becoming a Local Chapter

• Dedicated webpage on our website
• Facebook group page with our logo for your chapter
• Association with a nationally recognized clearinghouse on developmentally appropriate school start times
• Connectivity with other chapters for collaboration and support
• Association with an established presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, & online and print media
• Subscription to our national newsletter and email list
• Support of health and educational researchers and professionals across the United States and beyond
• Research and data collection potential on a national scale
• Alliances with national advocacy efforts to incorporate sleep health into the national health agenda
• Measurable progress as a collective voice for change

"I have found the website to be an invaluable resource for the dissemination of information on our Facebook page, in emails to parents, school board members, the superintendent, legislators, and anyone else who might need education on the matter.  My goal has been to raise awareness in our community about the science behind the need for change and ways that these changes are being done successfully in Florida and across the nation."
- Kimberly Damron
Chapter Leader
Start School Later ​Leon County, FL 

"Thank you for all the support from Start School Later. Your resources were invaluable and your efforts lit the path." 
- Sheila Starkey-Hahn,
Chapter Leader 
Start School Later Germantown, TN

"I also want to thank you for all the assistance and guidance you have provided.  The going has been hard, but having expertise, encouragement, and access to data made it possible for our local core to be much more effective than we would have been on our own." 
- Cindy Jatul
Chapter Leader 
Start School Later Seattle

"I want to thank you for all the work you do with SSL....In the past I was spending hours re-inventing the wheel gathering the research....the research is here!  SSL does a wonderful job keeping the resources and citations."
- Gail Karafin, Ed.D., Chapter Leader
​Start School Later Pennsylvania

"...[H]aving you in our corner and the breadth of content and support is like no other experience I've ever had."
- Tracey Collins, chapter leader
Start School Later Southern Region, Maine

With resources and support from Start School Later, local chapters and partners have been instrumental in achievements including:

• Successfully influencing the Seattle Board of Education to start all high schools and all but one middle school to move start times nearly an hour later to 8:45 a.m.
• Derailing a Connecticut school board's plan to consider shifting school start times earlier.
• Joining forces in Maryland to pass two pieces of landmark legislation: 1)  requiring state health officials to conduct a study on delaying school start times and to recommend whether public schools should adopt a policy of start times at 8 a.m. or later., and 2) creating the "Orange Ribbon" certification program for districts running schools at healthy hours.
• Uniting several local districts and a private school in Southern Maine to change all of their middle and high schools bell times to 8:30 a.m. or later.
• Convincing state education and health organization in Massachusetts to issue position statements supporting later start times.
• Influencing all 12 regional superintendents in the Middlesex League (MA) to issue a joint statement supporting a move to start times between 8-8:30 a.m.
• Successfully influencing a local school board in Greenfield, WI to push school start times 20 minutes later.
• Successfully influencing Montgomery County MD schools to move high school start times 20 minutes later.
• Successfully influencing schools in East Greenwich, RI to commit to a later high school bell time.
• Successfully influencing the school district in North Olmsted, OH to reverse a recent change to earlier school start times.
• Introducing legislation for later school start times in Virginia, Maine, Maryland, and Massachusetts
• Getting local school boards from Maryland to Washington state to create task forces on later school start times
• Sponsoring presentations to local parents, teachers, students, school administrators, health officials, and education leaders about sleep and healthy school hours using Start School Later materials
• Working with student leaders in Columbia, Missouri to get their local school board to not only stop a move to earlier high school start times but to actually start the high school later.
• Working with the Florida American Academy of Pediatrics to endorse starting high schools no earlier than 8 a.m.​

Weston would not have been able to make the change without the help of SSL [Start School Later]. We utilized many of the resources including their slides, flyers/brochures, and advice on engaging the school system and community. We received a lot of help, assistance, and support from many SSL members. So thank you. -- Chun Lim, Chapter Leader, Start School Later Weston, MA ​

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What Do You Get as a Local Chapter?

As an affiliate of Start School Later, you are connected to a national network of sleep, health, and advocacy experts and to people on the cutting edge of sleep and school start time research, education, advocacy, and legislation. Chapter leaders have direct access to our collective resources and strategies, as well as association with a respected national nonprofit.

Chapter leaders regularly connect with other chapters and with our volunteer national staff for collaboration, support, and help with advocacy, implementation, and publicity. 

 Starting a chapter is easily done in ​three easy steps:

1. Become a Supporting Member of Start School Later.
2. Fill out the contact form on this page to notify us that you would like to start a chapter. We will then send you a Local Chapter Agreement.
3. Sign our Local Chapter Agreement. Scan and email or snail mail it to our Chapter Director.

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Requirements for Local Chapters

• One point person to respond to email inquiries on our website
• Leader is a Supporting Member of Start School Later in good standing
• A heart for true change and a passion to make a difference
• Willingness to participate in occasional conference calls to share ideas and collaborate with other chapter leaders ​

​If this sounds good to you, fill out our form on this page to get started!

Chapter Leaders Area