The future of a proposed regulation on high school start times is unclear as the State Board of Education has yet to hear back on a draft of the proposal it sent to legislative attorneys about three months ago.
Under the latest version of the regulation, public high schools that begin prior to 8 a.m., including charter schools, would be required to provide alternative options to families and students. If passed, the regulation would be implemented by the 2025-26 school year.
Proponents of the regulation have argued that later start times could support better sleep among teens, which they say could lead to improvements in their physical and mental well-being as well as their academic performance. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends an 8:30 a.m. start time for teenagers.
High school start times vary across the state and even within school districts. Start times across the state vary from 7 a.m. to 7:40 a.m. to 8 a.m. with release times ranging from 1:15 to 2:55 p.m. With an 8:30 a.m. or later start, school would release around 3:30-4:20 p.m., significantly impacting bus schedules, sports schedules and work schedules.
In October, the board voted to send its proposed regulation to the Legislative Counsel Bureau’s legal division for review. During a recent meeting, board President Felicia Ortiz said there’s been no response from the bureau.
“That typically means that they don't agree with our authority, or have some issue with the language,” she said.
Ortiz said that the LCB has not sent an official memo or written opinion to the board indicating that this is the case. She added that the board has directed its legal counsel, Deputy Attorney General David Gardner, a former Republican state assemblyman, to connect with the bureau on this issue and determine whether there’s a path forward.
The Legislative Counsel Bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Board member and former state lawmaker Maggie Carlton said it’s not uncommon for the LCB to take a long time to issue a written opinion.
The scope of the education board’s authority has come into question over the past year. During an April 6 meeting, Ortiz said school districts are already required to have their schedules approved by the board, and the proposed regulation would simply set guard rails around start times on those schedules.
During the April 6 meeting, Gardner said it’s not “slam dunk” that the board has the authority to issue this type of regulation, but thought it could make a strong case to the LCB if it gets pushback. He said the best and easiest way to get the proposed regulation approved would be to get the Legislature to pass a bill stating the board has authority over school start times.
In September, Clark County School District (CCSD) General Counsel Luke Puschnig argued the Nevada Department of Education did not have the authority to make such a sweeping change, and threatened to take legal action or other steps to block the proposed regulation.
The Nevada Association of School Superintendents has unanimously opposed the regulation, said Eureka County schools Superintendent Tate Else, who sits on the state board. School district officials and parents have previously cited concerns over costs, bussing schedules, significant operational and logistical challenges, sports/extracurricular impacts, disruption of schedules of working parents and other challenges they could face if the board moves forward with this regulation.