Current
Government Involvement
There is currently involvement on all levels of the government when it comes to regulating (or the lack thereof) in relation to teen sleep. This includes findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), NJ state legislators, as well as concerns on the district level from the Bernard's Township Board of Education. While we are currently focused on Ridge High School, it is vital to understand the concern to look at this issue from all aspects.
The Nations Concern:
National Library of Medicine, CDC, and more
Affiliated with the US government, their studies have found that lack of sleep in individuals is a "public health epidemic that is often unrecognized, under-reported, and that has rather high economic costs". They advocate for better sleep--especially in adolescents--and strive to make people aware of the consequences associated with sleep deprivation. The CDC, for example, discovered the link between sleeplessness and an increased risk for illnesses and disorders, including obesity, type two diabetes, poor mental health, and injuries to name a few.
Current Government Discussions
New Jersey State Legislators
Supreme Court - McClain v. State
In March 2022, Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin of District 17 and Senator Vin Gopal of District 11 proposed to push school start times to no earlier than 8:30 am starting in the 2024-2025 school year. This push was initiated due to concerns regarding the negative effects of early start times on student health. New Jersey has one of the earliest start times in the nation, beginning around 7:51 am.
Extending beyond students in school, lack of sleep has gone as far as the Supreme Court. In 2009, the defendant, David McClain, was convicted of battery and claimed that his sleep deprivation led to automatism and thus it wasn't voluntary behavior. However, his claim does not state that automatism is a mental disease, so the Supreme Court invoked the insanity defense. Thus, automatism and insanity are separate defenses.
The Bernards Township
Board Of Education
Most students try their best to get enough sleep at Ridge, but too often, even those with the most organized schedules come to school exhausted. The Bernards Township Board of Education has come to recognize this ongoing epidemic. A conversation about pushing back school start time began in 2019, right as another concern was on our hands, the 2019 COVID pandemic. This put the school start time to the back seat. However, at the May 23rd, 2023 board of education meeting, this trivial matter was again revisited by Mr. Markarian, the superintendent of the Bernards Township School District. His suggestion, bus tearing which would allow at least the high school to start later, more will be discussed later on this topic. Following his thoughtful presentation was a discussion among members present, which allowed them to come up with ideas they liked and suggest others. A number of good suggestions were brought up, and this is a conversation that is going to continue in the coming years.
