After the Alarm Bell: Evaluating California's Late Start Mandate From a Policy Implementation Lens

• In Event: Evaluating the Ripple Effects: Policy Impacts of Pressing Educational Reform

Abstract

Unfunded school reforms have become increasingly difficult to navigate for K-12 school districts in California. In 2019, California became the first state in the nation to mandate later school start times for middle and high schools. Applying a policy implementation lens, we evaluated the impacts of the late start mandate on California schools' people, places, and local policies. This study uses data from focus groups, interviews, and a statewide survey to develop five central findings around late start policy implementation. These findings include a host of opportunities presented by the law, extra missed afternoon instructional time due to extracurricular schedules, disruptions to district transportation schedules, impacts to childcare and scheduling for vulnerable families, and difficulties with before-school staffing.

Author

• Jeremy Anderson, California School Boards Association