With Volusia County changing the start time for their schools in 2019-20, Seminole County students wonder if time change are coming here too.

The concept of changing high school start times is not new. Orange County changed start times but changed it back one year later after it didn’t work as they planned but now looking into it again.

Next year Volusia County elementary school will be open from 7:50 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., middle school will be open from 9:30 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. and high school will be open from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Although Seminole County is considering it, the likelihood of any time changes happening are slim due to of the need for more buses and more staff which would cost more money for the district. The district does not have the financial ability to be able to make these changes.

The likelihood of Orange County doing it is also slim because of the high costs it would entail.

“Dr. Griffin said that he would likely push high school times back a little later but is having a difficult time finding a way to pay for it,” assistant principal Jesse Walker said.

Walker said that the county is aware of studies that show that high schoolers need more time to sleep and that if they were able to change the times they could. According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night to function best.

“I think it’s important for school to start later because it would motivate students to be at school more. A lot of the reasons why kids dislike being at school, apart from the workload, is the fact that they have to wake up at 5:30 or 6 and working during hours that we should be sleeping, ” freshman Cecilia Felix said.

When asked students state that they find it difficult to wake up early in the morning, focus in class, and finish all their homework when they get home with the right amount of sleep.

Although it would be preferred to start later, for financial reasons the chance of it happening is low.