By: Fateha Syed

The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is debating whether or not to change the start times of schools. This change is being made because of students’ mental health and the amount of sleep students are getting before school. At this time, students are expressing their thoughts from multiple different viewpoints. 

Seniors have been able to experience the normal bell schedule more than any other grade. When asked whether it seemed reasonable to them, their answers varied. While some thought the current start times were reasonable, Mt. Hebron senior Jeremy Nupp expressed his concern with the schedule. 

“I think the times need to be pushed back a little bit, some students, including myself, live farther away from Hebron than other kids. This causes us to have to wake up earlier either to catch the bus or leave our house so we can get to Hebron before the traffic in the morning.” 

With the proposals switching times around, causing schools to push back 30+ minutes, Mt. Hebron senior Preston Henry is against this change. 

“As a senior, I think the start time is fine the way it is right now. With the change, people may like it in the beginning because they get extra sleep, but after a while, they will realize how late they get home and tire out.” 

Agreeing with Henry, senior Aaron Abedin stated another concern with the proposal. 

“A lot of kids play a sport or stay after school for extracurricular activities, this would result in them having to leave at a later time than they usually do which could cause various other problems.” 

Mt. Hebron sophomore Briana Higgs expressed further complications with the plan.

“The amount of homework we get forces us to stay up longer. Despite homework, after-school activities, and sports, being high schoolers we now have to focus on extra tutoring for SAT and other classes, this would also clash with our schedule,” she said. 

With the different opinions from students coming from all over the county, the school board has a lot of things to consider before making this decision official. Sleep is great, but the afternoon ramifications for those who are heavily involved might be too large to justify a delay to the morning.