By Sheridan McKnight
News Editor
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new legislation Senate Bill 328 on Oct. 13, requiring all high schools in the state of California to begin their days after 8:30 a.m. and all middle schools to start after 8 a.m. in an attempt to limit sleep deprivation among teenagers.
SB 328 will go into affect for the 2022- 2023 school year. California is the first state in the country to sign a law mandating later start times for schools.
“I am opposed to the law as it is currently written because I truly believe that the number-one problem keeping high school students from being awake isn’t going to bed late or needing to sleep later. It is the fact that they go to bed with a blue light every night in the form of a telephone,” ASB Director Lisa Claypoole said.
Although Costa will be required to start at 8:30 a.m., this will not affect zero period. Students choose whether or not to enroll in a zero period class, and the restriction is not applicable to optional classes.
“I think school should start at 8:30 be- cause even though it is only half an hour later, I think the extra bit of sleep would make a difference,” freshman Reece Riley said. “With this extra sleep, students will be able to perform better on tests and feel less stressed out.”
According to Principal Dr. Ben Dale, the Manhattan Beach Unified School Dis- trict and collective bargaining units will sit down and decide what is best for the district’s schools.
“We do not know how the law will affect Costa yet,” Principle Dr. Ben Dale said. “We are still at the stage where there is a lot of work to do and a lot of conser- vations to be had.”
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, teenagers are recommended to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep per night. A lack of sleep decreases productivity and increases depression and suicidal thoughts in teenagers.
“I believe it is a great idea because I do see quite frequently that students come to school pretty exhausted for whatever reasons; either they’re up late studying, or sometimes they have jobs that keep them working later,” Costa nurse Hedy Deck said. “As far as health, I think that a well-rested student will preform better in school, and I think rest is the number one thing for a healthy teenager.”
Opponents of the legislation argued it could prevent parents from dropping their children off at school and push extracurricular ac- tivities later in the day. Newsom rejected these arguments, passing the law into action.
“In the long term, students will still be staying up late doing homework along with other things, and nothing will change,” senior Saul Droutman said. “Although some students might think the extra time to sleep in will be nice, they won’t be well rested and will have to stay in school later instead.”
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