Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

23 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

24 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

2 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

2 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

2 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
Newsom Signs Bill Pushing Back Public School Start Times
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 6 years ago on
October 14, 2019

Share

Students in middle school and high school can sleep in later beginning in 2022, thanks to legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday.
Senate Bill 328, which was authored by state Sen. Anthony Portantino, bans public high schools from starting before 8:30 a.m. It additionally requires middle schools to start no earlier than 8 a.m.


Listen to this article:
 


The new law did carve out an exemption for rural districts because of bus scheduling challenges. Also excluded: so-called “zero periods,” which are optional courses offered before the regular school day begins.

The Effect on Fresno Unified

Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson said that while the district’s middle schools already start at 8 a.m. the high schools will have to change their start times.
“We have to make sure we can get our kids to and from school from a transportation standpoint,” Nelson said. “We’re talking about what services we can provide for kids who might, in fact, come early to school. Like, do we have an opportunity to get them homework help?”
(Click on the video at the top of the story to see Nelson’s full remarks.)

Bill Opposed by Teachers, School Districts

Teachers and school districts opposed the law, arguing the decision on when to start school should be left to local officials.
And, a spokesman for the California School Boards Association told EdSource that the later start times would increase the need for childcare for “already cash-strapped families.”

Bill’s Author Predicts Better Grades, Healthier Children

But Portantino countered that “shifting to a later start time will improve academic performance and save lives because it helps our children be healthier.”
He characterized opponents as putting “our children’s health and welfare ahead of institutional bureaucracy resistant to change.”
A legislative analysis of the bill noted that various studies about the impacts of school start times over the past 15 years have had “wide variation in conclusions.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

After Record Democratic Speech, House Republicans Begin Final Vote on Trump Tax-Cut Bill

UP NEXT

Trump Impounds Billions in Education Funding. For Fresno Unified, It’s $7.1 Million

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Wired Wednesday: Why Is State Lawmaker Taking Aim at Rooftop Solar?

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

22 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

22 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

23 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

23 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

23 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

23 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

23 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

23 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

23 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

23 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us. Thomas L. Friedman The New Yo...

1 hour ago

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
1 hour ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Caitlin Clark Signs T-Shirt
2 hours ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
22 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
22 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

22 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
23 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
23 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
23 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend