After weighing community input, the Metro Nashville Public Schools board votes to push start times.
Image: Glencliff High School. Image Credit: Martin B. Cherry / Nashville Banner
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by Lillian Avedian, [The Nashville Banner, Creative Commons] –
Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Education has voted unanimously to adjust high school and elementary school start and dismissal times for the 2026-27 academic year.
Starting next academic year, high schools will start and end 20 minutes later, and elementary schools 10 minutes later. The high school day will last from 7:25 a.m.-2:25 p.m. Elementary schools and Early Learning Centers will run from 8:10 a.m.-3:10 p.m. Middle school start and dismissal times will not change from 8:55 a.m.-3:55 p.m.
These changes will not impact optional magnet and charter schools.
Nashville public high schools currently begin at 7:05 a.m., which is one of the earliest start times in Tennessee and the country. Research largely endorses the benefits of later school start times for student health. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that schools open no earlier than 8:30 a.m.
During Tuesday’s meeting, school board members recognized that pushing high school start times by just 20 minutes is an imperfect solution. Even so, it would support adolescent sleep and better align with research.
“We can’t necessarily say 7:25 or 8:10 is going to be that much better … but it is at least progress on something that we’ve not made progress on,” board member Erin O’Hara Block said. “It’s getting unstuck from something.”
Board member Abigail Tylor listed the many risks associated with insufficient sleep and chronic sleep loss among youth — including motor vehicle crashes, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, caffeine consumption, lower academic achievement and more.
“It’s not just increasing academic performance — but it is. It’s not just increasing mental health — but it will. It’s not just helping social behaviors,” she said. “This is addressing the whole child.”
The new bell times reflect the greatest possible change with the district’s current transportation resources. This model will require some transportation adjustments, since the window between bell times will be shortened from 55 to 45 minutes, and many bus drivers must complete several routes.
Currently, students typically walk a tenth of a mile to get to a bus stop, which is about a block. Next year, as some bus routes and stops are adjusted, the typical walk may be .125 miles, about two blocks, with the longest walks up to a quarter of a mile.
MNPS launched a districtwide study of school start times last fall, in partnership with the mayor’s office, the board and transportation experts 4MATIV. The district conducted two surveys and several rounds of town halls and focus groups to gather community feedback, which it used to develop three models for schedule changes. MNPS ultimately recommended pushing high school start times by 20 minutes to the board, which it called the “balanced adjustment” model.
The second survey released in January received 8,753 responses, most of which were from families, followed by school-based staff and then students. Thirty-seven percent of respondents preferred the model ultimately adopted by the school board, with a total of 56 percent supporting some change to high school start times. School-based staff were the only group to prefer no change.
Public opinion also varied across districts. For instance, families and bus drivers in District 6, which encompasses southeast Nashville, overwhelmingly opposed any change, according to board member Cheryl Mayes, who represents the district. Opinion elsewhere was more divided or leaned toward pushing high school start times, according to board members.
“Maybe this isn’t enough change for high school start times,” board member Zach Young said, “but I think it’s important that we show people that change is possible, and that it is moving in the right direction.”
