Giving Compass' Take:

• A University of Washington study that examined later school start times at Seattle public high schools found that students were less tardy and less absent in schools. 

• Althought there is a growing amount of evidence in favor of later school start times, few schools implement this policy.  Should administrators and educators prioritize this as a viable policy change opportunity?

• Here is more research that supports later school start times for students. 

Researchers at the University of Washington recently released a study in Science Advances that examined the effects of later school start times of 55 minutes at two high schools in the Seattle Public Schools and found that students gained an average of 34 minutes extra sleep, were tardy or absent less often and received grades that were 4.5% higher in the biology class used in the study, NPR reports.

The study compared two groups of students — 92 sophomore biology students at Franklin High School and Roosevelt High School who wore wrist monitors and used sleep diaries to track sleep patterns in the spring of 2016 when the class began at 7:50 a.m. and 88 students who took the same biology class the following year when the start time was changed to 8:45 a.m.

This recent research by the University of Washington adds to a growing body of research suggesting the advantages of later start times for teens.

In addition to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Sleep Foundation and Stanford Medical University are among the organizations supporting later start times for teens. Forbes Magazine and the Wall Street Journal have also drawn attention to the issue.

Despite the growing research base, relatively few schools have made the switch to later start times because of the disadvantages and obstacles to the plan. Schools and lawmakers cite logistical concerns, the higher cost of transportation, and the effects on parental schedules, extracurricular school activities, and student work schedules. For some families, the decision may also affect the need for older students to be home with younger children in the afternoon.

School leaders may need to develop creative solutions to address these concerns.

Read the full article about later school start times by Amelia Harper at Education Dive