BOISE, Idaho — The Boise School District's School Start Time Committee is proposing a shake-up to the school day.
Under the recommendation, junior high and high school students would start later, while elementary students would start earlier.
WATCH: The changes Boise School District considers for school start times
The district said the goal is to give teens more time to sleep, pointing to research connecting more rest with better attendance, learning and overall well-being.
But the proposal wouldn't just change the clock. High schools would also move from seven class periods to six, reducing the number of credit-earning opportunities from 56 to 50.
For Megan Boston, a parent of a junior high student, that's one of her biggest concerns.
"I have concerns that the loss of academic credits that would impact my child's mental health. She is one that is looking forward to art, to being able to do French," Boston said. "Losing those opportunities would decrease her motivation to want to be in school."
Some Boise High seniors agree.
"I want to enjoy my high school and take the fun classes that especially Boise High has to offers," Rosemary Butler said.
"I think having seven class periods helps me have a much more flexible schedule along with learning and making my application for college look as good as possible," Teddy Winkler said.
But other students said the trade-off could be worth it. Under the proposal, high school would start at 9 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m., and end at 4:02 p.m. instead of 3:07 p.m.
"Sleep is just really important. I think all high schoolers will learn better. They will thrive better with more sleep," Kaira Stambulis said. "Being so tired for the rest of the day makes me unmotivated to learn."
But even among students, a later start doesn't work for everyone.
"As much as I hate getting up early for school, getting out later is gonna be a problem, my evenings are already so packed," Zayden Gabby said.
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Under the proposal, standard elementary schools would start at 8 instead of 8:45 and get out at 2:30 p.m. instead of 3:15 p.m.
Boston, who also has a student in elementary school, said that could mean parents having to leave work earlier or finding after-school care.
"I would have to leave work early and have even more flexible work scheduling," Boston said. "I think that that will create challenges for many families."
Transportation is also part of the equation.
The district said changing only secondary start times could require dozens of additional bus routes, costing about $7 million more each year.
That's one reason the committee is recommending flipping the schedule, with older students starting later and younger students earlier. The district also said combining some elementary bus routes could make some rides up to an hour and a half long.
"Those bus routes would need to start around 6 a.m. or earlier. And that to me is just swapping one problem for another, and it's not creating a real solution," Boston said.
READ MORE | Boise School District to make elementary staffing adjustments for music, PE classes
The district said other schools in its athletic conference aren't expected to make the same change, meaning with this proposed schedule some Boise student-athletes could have to leave class early to make it to games.
You can weigh in on the proposal until Dec. 4 using this link.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
