National PTA Issues Resolution on Adolescent Sleep

At their national meeting this summer, the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) joined a growing list of education and health organizations issuing resolutions in support of healthy daily start times for adolescents. Please insure your local PTA chapter is aware of this national resolution to insure the Texas state chapter adds healthy school start times to their state legislative objectives. SSLTexas has reached out to the Texas state PTA president on several occasions in hopes of bringing early daily start times for adolescents as an issue they should address. Here is the response received when this resolution was sent: "Thank you for your email inquiry regarding Healthy School Hours for Teens. Texas PTA has taken the position of supporting local control for matters like this, where the local school district community is best at determining what is best for their students and feasible within their district." We wouldn't let local school districts decide if they want to have lead in the drinking fountains, heat the building in winter, or remove harmful asbestos. The adolescent sleep deprivation crisis is a public health issue that belief in "local control" shouldn't prevent us from protecting the health of our school children.