National PTA Votes to Support Healthy Sleep & School Time for Teens

Sacramento, CA – Senator Anthony Portantino (D–La Cañada Flintridge), author of SB 328 (Healthy School Start Time), applauds the recent action by the National PTA, which voted to adopt a Resolution on Healthy Sleep for Adolescents.   Research has shown that moving high school and middle school start time later improves student health and academic performance.  Last week’s action by the National PTA embraces that research.  SB 328 is a California specific proposal that passed through the State Senate and is currently being heard in the State Assembly Education Committee.  It calls for California’s middle and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 am. The bill has the support of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the California State PTA.

Highlights from the National PTA’s resolution include: 

“Evidence proves that implementation of later school start times for adolescents affords students the opportunity to obtain optimal levels of sleep, thereby improving physical and mental health, safety, academic performance, and quality of life; and can be achieved with no change in the number of hours spent engaged in athletics, extracurricular activities, and homework after the schedule change.”

“National PTA and its constituent associations support the efforts of school districts to optimize sleep for students and urge high schools and middle schools to aim for start times that allow students the opportunity to achieve optimal levels of sleep and to improve their physical and mental health, safety, academic performance, and quality of life.”

The complete text of the National PTA resolution can be found at this link: http://www.pta.org/advocacy/content.cfm?ItemNumber=4782

“As a longtime local PTA member, I’m very pleased that the National PTA acknowledges and supports the science behind the relationship between healthy sleep for teens and appropriate school start time.  It’s extremely exciting for our California movement that they passed this resolution and that the National PTA joins California in supporting healthy school start times.  The positive momentum behind this good public health policy is growing,” commented Portantino.

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Sen. Portantino represents nearly 930,000 people in the 25th Senate District, which includes Altadena, Atwater Village, Bradbury, Burbank, Claremont, Duarte, Glendale, Glendora, La Cañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Verne, Lake View Terrace, Los Feliz, Monrovia, Montrose, Pasadena, San Dimas, San Marino, Shadow Hills, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Sunland-Tujunga and Upland.