Via EdNews, Newsday.com writes about a trend to start high school classes later in the morning.

According to behavioral experts, adolescents generally need eight to nine hours’ sleep each night, beginning around 11 p.m., when most start feeling drowsy. Ideally, then, most students wouldn’t awaken until about 7:30 a.m — about the time most on Long Island are expected to arrive at first-period classes.

There’s a body of research on the impact of sleep and learning. Still, there is resistance to change and concerns about the impact of shifting schedules: “Sixty-five percent of students favored keeping the bell schedule the way it is. Many predicted that a change would make it more difficult to hold after-school jobs, or to participate in clubs and sports.”