Local Chapters >> Maryland

Start School Later Howard County!
Our Goal: Safe and healthy school start times for
​all Howard County Public Schools System (HCPSS) students.
2023-2024 New School Hours! 
See our Elections page for candidate views on safe, healthy, and age-appropriate school hours.  
See our Resources page for flyers, graphics, and videos just for Start School Later Howard County.

History of Board of Education Actions: 

• September 12, 2024: HCPSS releases a report by Prismatic Services, Inc of the Root Cause Analysis of school start time transportation failures in 2023-2024 school year.  
• April 26, 2024: Board of Education agrees to keep modified school hours (7:50-9:25 a.m. start times) for 2024-2025 school year.
• March 15: 2024: HCPSS released a memo to the Board of Education detailing updates on transportation issues, including returning school start times to no earlier than 8:00 a.m.  
• February 7, 2024:  HCPSS releases an internal action report following the transportation problems at the beginning of the school  year.  
• October 30, 2023:  The Board of Education directed HCPSS to return Tier 1 schools to 8:00 a.m. in the 2024-2025 school year.  You can read the press release.  
• October 18:2023:  HCPSS provides an update on school bus operations as a result of shift in start times.  You can read the press release.
• September 13, 2023: HCPSS announces changes to start times for operational needs as a result of busing issues, effective September 20, 2023.
• ​August 28, 2023:  First day of new school start times.​
• On April 27, 2023: an update on transportation planning efforts was provided to the Board of Education.
• February 23, 2023:  The Board of Education votes 7-0 to have high school in Tier 1 at 8:00 a.m.  You can read the press release.  
• In early 2023, the Board of Education held two hearings on start times, on January 17 and January 26.  On January 25, the Board held a work session.  On February 13, the Board met with the County Council to discuss start times.  
• December 2022: On December 15th, Decision Support Groups presents a report and presentation on two final bell scenarios to BOE.  On December 21st, the Board releases an updated website on school bell time scenarios, and dates of public hearings (January 19 and 26, 2023)  and work sessions (January 19 and February 15, 2023).  The Board will make a decision at the February 23, 2023 meeting.  
• July 14, 2022:  Decision Support Group presents a report and presentation on draft bell times/tiers to the BOE.  The range of start times for Tier 1 is 8:00-8:10 a.m.,Tier 2 8:30-8:50 a.m., and Tier 3 9:05-9:25 a.m. To address the concern from elementary school parents about starting school too late, the Board directed "the Superintendent to provide the Board with a timeline for analysis that explores the possibility of shifting tier 1 to tier 3 either with a swap or a shift of other tiers by August 16, 2022."
• June 23, 2022: Decision Support Group presents a report and presentation discussing some long-term options to improve transportation, specifically the Service Model (HCPSS owns buses vs contract buses) and technology enhancements (integrate various technology like routing, GPS positioning, and cross-arm stop camera systems).  The Board agreed to terminate all bus transportation contracts effective June 30, 2023, with new contracts and an expansion to HCPSS owned/operated bus fleet to begin on July 1, 2023.  ​

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Sign our petition
to Howard County Board of Education

We respectfully request our school board to officially recognize the large and compelling body of research regarding teen sleep and academic achievement, and, with a resolution, to set a goal to start all schools in Howard County, MD, after 8:00 AM.

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•  ​​May 12, 2022: HCPSS, after several years of efforts by parents advocating for an improvement to address traffic concerns at Marriotts Ridge High School and Mount View Middle School (which start only 15 minutes apart), will move Mount View Middle School's start time from 7:40 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., beginning in the 2022-2023 school year.  Read HCPSS memo here.  This is separate from the larger school start time adjustments for 2023-2024 school year. 
• January 27, 2022: The Board of Education accepts public testimony on school start and dismissal times. You can watch the video (Agenda Item 11.C or timestamp 2:46:48 [bit of delay before first speaker])
• January 13, 2022: Decision Support Group presents their school start time and transportation report and a powerpoint to the Board of Education. The Board requested the Superintendent "bring forward a later school start time implementation plan for the start of the 2023-2024 school year by February 10, 2022." You can watch the video (Agenda Item 10.C or timestamp 3:34:32)
• June 24, 2021:  HCPSS approved a contract for a transportation consultant to assist with development of bell times/bus routes.  
• April 15, 2021:  HCPSS discusses school start times, following a presentation by the school system.  The BOE unanimously amended the recommendation to implement in the 2022-2023 school year.
• February 3, 2021: HCPSS announced that the hybrid school schedule which begins March 1st, will delay all schools 20 minutes.  Elementary schools will start between 8:35 and 9:45 a.m., middle schools will begin between 8 and 8:45 a.m., and the first bell for all 12 high schools will be 7:45 a.m.
• The 2020-2021 Continuity of Learning Schedule posted by HCPSS as a result of COVID-19 school closure, has no middle or high school starting class before 8 a.m. and some students may start at 9 a.m.  Monday check-ins are a 9 a.m.  Assignments due on Fridays at 10 a.m. 
• Dr. Chao Wu, HCPSS Board of Education member, summarized some of the various options discussed over the past few years in an April 18, 2019 blog post, along with links to related documents.  
• On December 19, 2017, The Board of Education was presented with 4 options of school start times that allows all schools to start between 8 a.m. and 9:25 a.m.  They voted 6-1 to rescind their February 2017 commitment of change in 2018-2019 school year and school hours will remain the same.
• On February 23, 2017, the Board of Education voted 6-2 to ask the Start Time Committee to develop new scenarios that have no school starting before 8 a.m. and no school starting after 9:25 a.m.
• On January 12, 2017 the Board of Education was presented with the community's feedback on the four options. At this meeting, the Board delayed any start time implementation until the 2018-2019 school year.  A public hearing was held February 7th.
• ​On November 17, 2016, the Board of Education was presented with four options from the  School Start and Dismissal Time Committee (SSDT).  
• The 2013-2017 Howard County School Start and Closing Time Committee website can be found here.  
• In 1997, an analysis produced three models needing between 0 to 80 more school buses (see reference in January 13, 2022 report).

In the News....
2024

• April 26:  The Baltimore Sun discusses the Board of Education's decision to keep school start times the same in 2024-2025 school year.  

2023

• September 14: The Baltimore Banner discusses the changes to start times that will be effective September 2023 and the reasons for the problems in a guest editorial.  
• August: The Baltimore Banner (August 4), WBAL (August 23), Baltimore Fishbowl (August 24), Baltimore Sun (August 28), and Baltimore Banner (August 28) discuss new school start times and transportation changes and problems.
• April 13:  The Baltimore Sun discusses the impact of changing bus eligibility zones.
• March 16: The Baltimore Examiner reviews school start times across the state in light of changes by Anne Arundel and Howard Counties.
• February 24:  The Baltimore Sun and WBFF Fox 45 cover the Board of Education's decision.
• February 14:  The Baltimore Sun describes a joint meeting between Board of Education and County Council regarding school start times.
• January 30:  The Baltimore Sun describes lessons learned from Anne Arundel County's start time implementation
• January 17 and 18:  WBAL TV and the Baltimore Sun describe the public hearings on school start times.  

2022:

• December 28:  The Baltimore Sun describes the impact of bus driver shortage on the proposed bell time scenarios.
• December 27: The Washington Post describes the upcoming public hearings on bell time scenarios and outlines moves by Anne Arundel and Montgomery Counties.  
• December 23:  The Patch describes the upcoming public hearings on bell time scenarios.  
• July 14:  HCPSS BOE approves motion 7-1, to direct the Superintendent and HCPSS to determine a timeline for how long it would take to implement a tiering with high school in last tier, as described by the Baltimore Sun.   
• February 11: HCPSS BOE unanimously approves plan presented by Decision Support Group to implement new start times in 2023-2024 school year, as described by Fox 45.  

2021:

• February 22: HCPSS BOE approved the budget request for a Digital Education Center that would allow students to attend virtual school between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.  
• February 3: HCPSS announced that the hybrid school schedule which begins March 1st, will delay all schools 20 minutes.  Elementary schools will start between 8:35 and 9:45 a.m., middle schools will begin between 8 and 8:45 a.m., and the first bell for all 12 high schools will be 7:45 a.m.

2020:

• April 7, 2020: Board of Education to approve the contract for new school bus routing software with Tyler Technologies. $335,904.50 for the first year and $614,363.88 over the following five years.  

2019:

• On January 15, 2019, three students testified on HCPSS's budget asking for healthy, safe, and age appropriate school hours.  Read the Howard County Times article.   (Watch the video at the bottom of this page.)

2018:

• On December 3, 2018, a  student testified before the HCPSS Board of Education.   (Watch the video at the bottom of this page.)
• ​The People's Voice sent questionnaires to June 2018 Board of Education Primary Candidates.  School start times is question 11.  

2017:

• On December 19, 2017, the HCPSS Board of Education voted to rescind its February 2017 commitment to healthy and safe school hours.  Read the Columbia Flier's article. 
• On December 7, 2017, a parent and student testified before the HCPSS Board of Education.  As part of the parent's submitted testimony, quotes from athletes regarding the importance of sleep were included. (Watch the video at the bottom of this page.)
• On April 27-28, SSL HoCo attended the Adolescent Sleep, Health, and School Start Time Conference in Washington, D.C. 
• The Baltimore Sun covers the February 7, 2017 Public Forum.
• The Howard County Times explains the University of Maryland's involvement in Howard County's bus routing/bell times analysis. January 20, 2017. 
• ​Other articles about Dr. Ali Haghani (University of Maryland) and his bus routing mathematical solution:​ The Academic Minute, School Transportation News, Salon, 9News (Colorado), School Transportation News, and University of Maryland's Fall 2017 Terp Alumni Magazine.

2016:

• The Howard County Times Editorial Board supports healthy and safe school hours.  December 15, 2016.
• The November 30, 2016 start/dismissal time forum was covered by WMAR/ABC2.
• Letter to the Editor in the Baltimore Sun about Howard County's absentee rate and the role of early school start times.  October 4, 2016.
• On April 28, 2016, the Board of Education voted to implement later school hours in the 2017-2018 school year.

2013:

• ​​"School Start Times Under Review"  Ellicot City Patch  January 30, 2013.

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