The Logan City School Board in Cache Valley voted this week in favor of later start times for all of their schools.
This decision comes after similar discussion at the state legislature this year. A House resolution that ended up getting stuck in the Senate called for later start times for Utah’s middle and high school students.
Jenny Johnson is on the Logan City School Board and says that the resolution got them talking. As a board they were already looking at reworking bus schedules and changing Logan High from an 8-period day to a block format.
“It was just perfect timing to have all of the that discussion all at the same time," says Johnson.
The vote to bump up the start times for the district’s eight schools was unanimous. The change will go into effect next Fall.
“So far we’ve just had positive feedback from the public," says Johnson.
Johnson says people are most excited about Logan High switching from a 7:30 AM start time to 8:00 AM.
Carol Spackman Moss is the Democratic State Representative who introduced the original legislation. She feels encouraged by the decision in Logan.
During the session Moss invited medical and mental health experts to the state Capitol to discuss the benefits of later start time, which the Center for Disease Control and Prevention also encourages.
Although the resolution didn’t pass, Moss says it did what it was supposed to. It got the conversation started.
