New school year brings host of changes for K-12 classrooms

Among the new changes are middle and high schools starting later as well as requiring schools to provide two free meals a day for all students regardless of their household income. Graphic by SUKHMAN SAHOTA, art director

K-12 schools throughout California kicked off the school year with a number of adjustments as a result of new legislation, some of which are being implemented within the next several years.

New late start times

The new late start times for public middle schools and high schools come three years after Senate Bill (SB) 328 was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019. The bill, which led to California becoming the first state to require later start times, states that high schools are not allowed to begin until 8:30 a.m., while middle schools cannot start until 8 a.m.

The new times come after over three decades of research done in Minneapolis focusing on how sleep patterns affect teenagers’ health and brain chemistry.

According to the 2016 Minnesota student survey which focused on students enrolled in the fifth, eighth, ninth and 11th grades, eighth and ninth graders were typically getting between seven and eight hours of sleep. High school juniors, meanwhile, were getting between six and seven hours of sleep. 

“Generations of children will come to appreciate this historic day and our Governor for taking bold action,” California State Sen. Anthony J. Portantino (D-25), the author of the bill, commented shortly after the bill was signed. “Our children face a public health crisis. Shifting to a later start time will improve academic performance and save lives because it helps our children be healthier.”

In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report focusing on the results of the national and state Youth Risk Behavior Surveys administered in 2015. Data on middle school students was obtained from nine states while 30 states and 16 large urban school districts provided the data for high school students.

The surveys found that more than 57% of middle school students reported having a short sleep duration, with less than 28% stating that they got the recommended nine to 12 hours of sleep. For high school students, more than 72% reported having a short sleep duration, with more than 65% stating they got the recommended eight to 10 hours of sleep.  

Previously, the bill was vetoed by former Gov. Jerry Brown.

“This is a one-size fits-all approach that is opposed by teachers and school boards,” Brown said. “Several schools have already moved to later start times. Others prefer beginning the school day earlier. These are the types of decisions best handled in the local community.”

Although Shayna Brooke, a student in the Concord Law School at Purdue University Global, is not a parent, she feels that the late start times are a great idea. While she said she understands some parents’ concerns that the late start times don’t prepare students for the real world, she stated that once the students get to college, they have a four-year gap before they enter the real world.

“You kind of just forget that entire high school schedule completely, like your body doesn’t even remember it,” Brooke told The Panther. “I remember having 7 a.m. classes and being like ‘Well, this is the toughest thing I’ve ever done even though I (had) 7 a.m. classes (in) high school almost every day. But it’s different because (in college) you will have the one year where you’ll have 9 a.m. classes or you’ll have a year where you have only afternoon classes.

Brooke also said that since high school students are still growing and developing, the late start times can help them get more sleep. She also noted that in school, students are attempting to balance paying attention in their classes, taking notes and learning, but they also have extracurriculars and homework assignments.

She noted that by contrast, a nine-to-five job doesn’t have the same requirements since they often involve putting learned skills to use, and once a shift ends, there’s no assignments that have to be completed after clocking out for the day.

What is universal transitional kindergarten?

Another major change occurring is the implementation of the universal transitional kindergarten program, a program for children moving from preschool to kindergarten.

Assembly Bill 22 was signed by Newsom last July and comes over a decade after SB 1381 was passed, which raised the age requirement for starting kindergarten from 4 years old to 5 years old. SB 1381 required that the students had to turn 5 by Sept. 1 of the school year — any students turning 5 between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2 could enter a transitional kindergarten program.

The bill, which was drafted by State Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-CA), phased out this requirement in a span of three school years, gradually moving the birthday date from Nov. 1 to Oct. 1 and finally to Sept. 1.

The transitional kindergarten program that was created at the time only served about 100,000 children, many of whom turned 5 between the Sept. 2 and Dec. 2 timespan. Through the newer program, about 400,000 students will be served, and it will become available to all levels of income for children who turn 5 at any time in the year. The implementation for the program is expected to be fully completed by the 2025-2026 school year.

“Currently, many families lack access to high-quality early education programs like TK and pre-K programs,” McCarty wrote in a statement on his website. “Research shows that students who attend high-quality early learning programs are more prepared for kindergarten and beyond... By ensuring each child receives a high-quality TK education, this bill will set students up for success in kindergarten and beyond.”

Other changes

Another major change that was introduced in California requires schools to provide free breakfast and lunch for each school day to students regardless of whether a student is eligible for the state’s free and reduced-price meal programs. To help schools accomplish this, $150 million in funding is allocated to support kitchen infrastructure upgrades and train staff on nutrition.

For over a decade, New York City has provided universal free meals to all students regardless of household income through its Universal Free Meals (UFM) program. About 500 public schools began offering free meals between 2010 and 2017, but some schools introduced programs like these even earlier.

Emily Gutierrez, a research associate at the Urban Institute, conducted a study in June 2021 for Annenberg Brown University in which she looked at the impact that the program has on participating students. 

Gutierrez found that UFM increased the number of students who participated and that it lowered instances of bullying related to meal assistance programs.

The data was obtained from over 100,000 students in 6th to 12th grade between 2013 and 2017.

Under-resourced schools are also receiving some help from the California Community Schools Partnership Program in the form of historic $649 million grants. More rounds of grants will come over the next seven years to total $3 billion.

“Schools in communities with high rates of poverty, homelessness and food insecurity lack the funds to address student mental health issues, improve wellness and support learning recovery,” State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond commented in a May 18 California Department of Education news release. “That’s why this program is so exciting: well-resourced community schools have the potential to transform students’ lives and improve the well-being of families, thus uplifting entire communities.”

According to the release, 268 school districts, county offices of education and charter schools will be receiving the grant. 192 of these locations will receive $200,000 planning grants for two years in order to begin building community schools, which are public K-12 schools that focus on health, social services, leadership and community engagement in addition to academics. Community schools have existed in other areas of the state for at least a decade.

Another statewide change is the creation of college savings accounts for K-12 public school students from low-income households and infants born on or after July 1, 2022. The new ScholarShare 529 college savings accounts are made possible thanks to the CalKIDS program, which launched Aug. 10 and invests between $500 and $1,500 into each account. Foster students and homeless youth will also receive supplemental deposits.

Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian (D-CA) originally created the program in order to help address wealth inequality and the rising college tuition costs.

“Our shared vision ensures each child across the state will have an opportunity at higher education,” Nazarin said in an Aug. 10 news release from Newsom’s office.