Students in Jefferson County Public Schools are a vote away from having a whole new bell schedule for the next school year.
The Jefferson County Board of Education is planning to vote Tuesday night on a proposal to overhaul school start times.
District leaders say a bus driver shortage makes the current arrangement untenable. Hundreds of kids arrive late to school every day, some by more than an hour.
The solution they’ve offered is staggering start times throughout the district. The plan would move most middle and high schools to a later 8:40 a.m. arrival, and many elementary schools up to a 7:40 a.m. arrival.
JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio has said the proposed plan also aims to give more middle and high school students an extra hour of sleep. Research shows later start times lead to better health and education outcomes for teens.
District leaders say it was not possible to move all middle and high schools to the later start time, so they prioritized non-magnet schools and schools with the lowest standardized test scores.
Board members will weigh in on the proposal at their 6 p.m meeting Tuesday at the VanHoose Education Center.
If passed the new plan would take effect next school year.
Support for this story was provided in part by theJewish Heritage Fund.
