Public Middle, High, and Charter Schools - Start Time for Instruction

SB 103 requires Maryland public middle schools to begin instruction no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m., starting in the 2028-2029 school year. It directly affects all public middle, high, and charter schools in Maryland, with limited waivers allowed only for emergencies like natural disasters. The bill also mandates that county school boards and charter schools implement a public awareness campaign starting in 2027-2028 to educate communities about sleep deprivation impacts and the benefits of later start times. These provisions aim to align school schedules with adolescent sleep health needs through concrete policy changes.