New legislation, new data, and a new book about the start school later movement

July 2026 Newsletter 

Volume 15, Issue 7

Dear Friends of Start School Later,

It may be summer, but the movement isn’t taking a break.

This month brings encouraging legislative developments, fresh data strengthening the case for healthier school hours, and new opportunities to get involved. You’ll also find voices from across the country speaking out for change.

This month also brings big personal news: Educating the Exhausted, the book Amy Wolfson and I have been working on for years, officially comes out July 14. It tells the inside story of how the start school later movement took root, its surprising challenges and notable achievements, and what needs to happen next. We hope it brings renewed attention and momentum to the cause, and both inspires and honors the thousands of community advocates, researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers who have been pushing for change for so long.

Warm regards,

Terra Ziporyn Snider, PhD

Executive Director and Co-Founder

Start School Later

Augusta Schools Receive Planning Grant to Delay School Start Times

DYK? Legislation Related to Sleep and School Start Times Has Been Introduced in At Least 31 US States, with 14 Measures Passed

Coming July 14: A Story Shaped by Our Community

This new book by two Start School Later leaders explores the development of adolescent sleep research since the 1980s and shares tales (and lessons learned) from the long struggle to turn that research into healthier school hours.

Speaking Up for Student Mental Health

“Whenever later school start times are discussed, familiar logistical concerns emerge around transportation, athletics, after-school activities, jobs, and more. These are legitimate questions that deserve thoughtful planning and community discussion. Yet these are solvable logistical problems that hundreds of school districts around the country have already solved because they concluded that adolescent health was worth the effort and that the long-term returns exceeded the costs of implementation.” — Psychologist Marla Shapiro

Your Support Helps Changemakers Make Change

Massachusetts Student Runs for Office on a Later Start Time Ticket

In this video, a candidate for Somerville High School Class VP offers a possible path to a later school start time.

Find a Local Start School Later Chapter

Starting or joining a chapter connects you with a national network of sleep, health, and advocacy experts and gives you access to proven resources, strategies, and support that have helped communities across the country successfully move to healthy school start times.  MORE INFO