WMAL

ROCKVILLE — (WMAL) Students in Montgomery County got some extra sleep before the start of the new school year Monday.

High school and middle school students got to sleep an extra 20 minutes since start times for high schools were pushed back from 7:25 to 7:45 a.m. and middle schools from 7:55 to 8:15 a.m.

Elementary schoolers go in 10 minutes later than they did last year with start times changing 8:50 or 9:15 to 9 or 9:25 a.m.

After a push by parents and mental health professionals, the school board voted in February to start schools later.

Proponents of the change argued studies show teens need more sleep than adults to function optimally.

“Now this is gonna be 20 to 30 minutes more, and the question is, ‘Is that really gonna make a difference?’ We’re hoping that it will,” said Interim Superintendent Larry Bowers.

After a year, Bowers said the school board will look into whether later start times are helping students and whether schools will continue to start later in the future.

While the later start times may help kids, they may hurt traffic patterns.

“We’re putting those morning busses further into the morning rush hour,” said Bowers.

He said they won’t know how the new bus schedules will impact traffic until after Labor Day, a time when traffic increases every year.

Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Heather Curtis)