Goal: To change Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) middle and high school start times to later in the morning. Research shows that later start times correspond with teen sleep needs and improve health, quality of life, and school performance.

The effort to change Fairfax County Public School start times by parents concerned about the health impact of too-early high school start times on adolescent students has been going on for at least 10 years. SLEEP was started in January 2004 by Sandy Evans and Phyllis Payne. Momentum appears to be building for a change. We need your continuing support to finally accomplish the goal of so many parents for so long. To learn more about the history of this issue in Fairfax, please visit the History page.

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News Updates, April 21, 2008:

School Board to Create Study Circles to Discuss TTF Recommendations,Will NOT Hold June Town Hall Meetings

MSNVA, FEA Teacher Survey, Sleep Researchers Support Later Start Times

Supervisors Ask Staff to Craft Sleep Questions for Youth Risk Survey

Help Take Bell Schedule Recommendations to Your School

SLEEP has produced information sheets to help members discuss proposed bell schedule changes at their PTA meetings and other school events. Getting accurate information out to the public is an important way you can help the later start time effort. SLEEP participated in the Transportation Task Force and supports its recommendations for new bell schedules as a viable compromise. More community feedback and refinement is the next step. Some tools for you to use:

• Information Sheet: "Support Later Start Times for High School Students"
• Bell Schedule Proposals: Summary
• Transportation Service Parameters and Other Recommendations

 

Transportation Task Force Proposes New Bell Schedules, March 2008

FCPS Transportation Task Force (TTF) proposes changes in bus service and new bell schedules that achieve beneficial later start times for high school students.

SLEEP Summaries of the Transportation Task Force work are now available: Bell Schedule Proposals and Transportation Service Parameters and Other Recommendations.

To review the complete document, please click on the links below: The 320 page version: Final Report of the TTF (with Appendices-this is a large, 3.7GB file). The 24 page Final Report without Appendices.

There is a special website for documents connected to the TTF: http://www.fcps.edu/fts/taskforce07/index.htm

 

SLEEP on the CBS Morning Show-click here

 

We had more than 20 speakers at the February 2, 2007 budget hearing. Katarina Berger, Lee Pyramid Coordinator, provided a light moment with the poem, Revise the Rule, which some School Board members promised to post in their offices as inspiration.