Daughtry introduces bills to improve teens’ health at school

AUGUSTA – On Thursday, Sen. Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, introduced bills to help teens have a healthier high school experience. LD 257, “An Act to Provide for a Later Starting Time for High Schools,” and  LD 253, “An Act to Add Health and Physical Education Requirements to High School Diploma Standards” were the subjects of public hearings before the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee.

“Just like reading and writing, physical education has a lifelong benefit. And just like eating a balanced diet and staying active, getting enough sleep is vital for teens’ health and development,” said Sen. Daughtry. “If we want to give our kids the best chance possible for success, we need to make sure school works for them. We’ve long known that school is about more than essays and textbooks. Let’s help our students learn to the best of their ability and potential, while also giving them tools for a healthy and successful life.”

LD 257 would require public school districts in Maine to ensure that high schools’ school days start no earlier than 8:30 a.m., beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. California became the first state in the nation to pass similar legislation, and several other states are considering later school start times as well. Many local school districts in Maine have made the switch, including Biddeford, Saco, Dayton and Old Orchard Beach.

Teens need on average 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep per night. However, data from the Youth Risk Behavior Health Survey shows that over 72 percent of high school students in the U.S. get less than 8 hours of sleep per night, with 22 percent  getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night. According to the CDC, insufficient sleep among children and adolescents is associated with an increased risk for diabetes, injuries, poor mental health, attention and behavior problems, and poor academic performance. 

“Starting school later for high school students has indeed been demonstrated to increase weekday sleep duration, and additional studies have further shown increased school attendance, increased academic performance, a decrease in the number of reported depressive symptoms, and a decrease in the number of automobile accidents among adolescent drivers,” said Dr. Deborah Hagler, with the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in testimony supporting the bill.

The Maine Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry also submitted testimony supporting the bill. 

LD 253 would add a requirement for health and physical education to the standards for receiving a high school diploma. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, physical education provides numerous benefits: higher grades and standardized test scores, better classroom behavior, more physical activity, lower rates of absenteeism, and better attention and focus inside the classroom. 

Robert Oates, a retired physical education teacher who now lives in Hollis Center, testified in favor of LD 253.

“I made the case then and now that Physical Education is more than just skills for a sports team. It should teach human movement in all aspects of life … from changing a car tire to shoveling snow. At parent Open House each Fall, I spoke about our goals in all courses: to allow our students to feel COMPETENT in their physical skills so that they would be CONFIDENT to join in physical activities during their life,” he wrote, adding, “ I feel that without that confidence in our own competence, most of us would back out of physical activity, one of the three legs that a healthy lifestyle stands on … the others being nutrition and sleep.”

“The mental and physical health of our school community was affected dramatically during and after the pandemic and quite honestly our students need physical and health education now more than ever. The well-being of our students is not something that we should be questioning,” said Dan Gish, Wellness Content Leader at Lewiston High School, who also testified in favor of the bill. 

Both LD 257 and LD 253 face further action in committee.