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Dan Cassino starts getting his son ready for school around 7 a.m., and they leave their New Jersey home at 8 to get to school before the bell rings at 8:30.

But next year, Cassino鈥檚 son is starting high school, where the first classes begin at 8 a.m., meaning they鈥檒l have to get started even earlier to get to class on time.

鈥淭hat half-hour difference is a big deal,鈥� Cassino said. 鈥淭hat half-hour is more we could get, too, as parents. I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e all just going to start heading to bed a half-hour earlier, so we鈥檙e just going to wind up with less sleep than we need.鈥�

Cassino hopes the New Jersey Legislature advances a new bill that would delay start times in high schools across the state to 8:30 a.m., a bill its supporters say is a response to the teen mental health crisis experts say was aggravated during the pandemic.

The plan 鈥� sponsored by Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex) and Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) 鈥� would take effect at the start of the 2024-25 school year.

鈥淲hen students are well-rested and eat nutritious meals, they鈥檙e better prepared to succeed in school,鈥� Coughlin said in a statement. 鈥淥verwhelmingly the research and success stories out of other states鈥� school districts show that the benefits of later start times to students鈥� holistic well-being, in terms of both mental health and academic performance, easily outweigh the costs.鈥�

The lawmakers linking sleep and mental health that found teens attending schools earlier in the morning are at higher risk of depression and anxiety. Teens鈥� circadian rhythm also naturally induces them to head to sleep later, so an early first period puts too much pressure on them, the two lawmakers said.

The New Jersey Education Association hasn鈥檛 taken a formal stance on the bill, but believes reforms that could be beneficial to students 鈥渋s well worth considering and implementing,鈥� said the teachers union鈥檚 spokesman, Steven Baker. There would have to be considerations to the structure of the school change, like busing and start times for middle and elementary school students, he said.

鈥淭hose changes would not happen in a vacuum. They would have a ripple effect in many areas,鈥� Baker said.

It鈥檚 unclear whether this could be done solely through a bill, or if contracts with school employees and bus companies would have to be taken into account.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence McDonald for questions: [email protected]. Follow New Jersey Monitor on and .

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