Spotlight - 01.2020

6 IN THE SPOTLIGHT

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Spotlight 1/

Time to reconsider:

California is

requiring schools

to start later

UNITED STATES

The late debate

MEDIUM US

If you have ever tried to practice verb tenses

with a 13-year-old early in the morning, you

know it’s true: To do well at school, teenagers

need to get more sleep. Many pediatricians

agree, which is why California has become the

first US state to make a later-start law.

This autumn, Governor Gary Newsom

signed a bill mandating that public middle

and high schools in the state not start their day

before 8 a.m. The new law, expected to go into

effect in 2022–23, has middle schools begin-

ning at 8 a.m. at the earliest and high schools at

8:30 a.m. As the Los Angeles Times reports, about

half the state’s schools will have to delay their

morning start by up to 30 minutes to comply

with the rule.

Anthony Portantino, the state senator who

wrote the bill, said children were facing a “pub-

lic health crisis,” citing research from the Amer-

ican Academy of Pediatrics that points to 8:

as a good starting time for schools. Those who

are against this say the later start will mean

higher costs due to changes in bus routes. They

also warn that children of laborers and ser-

vice-industry workers will see no benefit from

such a law. These youngsters will be dropped

off at school early anyway, because their par-

ents do not have the freedom to start work later.

benefit [(benIfIt]

, Nutzen

bill [bIl]

, hier: Gesetz

cite [saIt]

, zitieren

comply with sth.

[kEm(plaI wIT]

, etw. erfüllen

mandate [(mÄndeIt]

, verfügen

pediatrician [)pi:diE(trIS&n]

, Kinderarzt, Kinderärztin

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

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