1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; restricting school start times; 
  1.3             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.4             chapter 126. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [PURPOSE.] 
  1.7      The purpose of later school start times is to support 
  1.8   families and family schedules.  Schools begin too early for 
  1.9   adolescents.  Later school start times will lessen sleep 
  1.10  deprivation found in teenagers and increase their learning 
  1.11  alertness.  In addition, the existing early release times 
  1.12  coincide with the peak hours for juvenile crime.  Later start 
  1.13  times will keep children safe from unstructured time alone and 
  1.14  limit opportunities for children to engage in at-risk behavior. 
  1.15     Sec. 2.  [126.125] [SCHOOL START TIMES.] 
  1.16     A school district must not require schools within the 
  1.17  district to begin the school day before 8:00 a.m.  School 
  1.18  districts may schedule special classes and extracurricular 
  1.19  activities before 8:00 a.m. 
  1.20     Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  1.21     Section 2 is effective for the 1997-1998 school year.