Hello,

We are high school students in the Clark County School District (CCSD), and we’re exhausted. Starting school at 7 AM is too early. Most of us wake up between 5:00 and 5:30 AM just to get ready for school—some girls even wake up around 4 AM. Whether we’re getting dropped off or riding the bus, we leave the house super early, when the sun’s barely rising. By the time we’re in class, we’re still half asleep and can’t fully focus until way later in the morning. It’s not just a few of us—tons of students across the district deal with this every day.

If school keeps starting this early, students will keep being sleep-deprived, struggling with focus, low energy, worse grades, and more stress. According to the CDC, “Middle and high schools should start at 8:30 a.m. or later to give students the sleep they need.” The American Academy of Pediatrics even called early school start times a public health issue. We shouldn’t be expected to show up and do our best work when our bodies and brains haven’t even had enough rest.

Now is the time to change this. We’re asking CCSD to move high school start times to at least 8 AM. It might seem small, but it would make a huge difference in how we feel and how we perform. Please sign and support students who are just asking for a schedule that actually works for us.

— Concerned CCSD Students