Radnor Township OKs later school start times

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, Pa. (FOX 29) - In Delaware County, Radnor Township students will soon to be able to sleep in a little.

The Radnor Township School District school board approved a new start time for classes Tuesday following the results of a comprehensive multi-year study on student sleep and school start times.

The change will affect all five RTSD schools starting in the 2019-2020 schoolyear, establishing a new start time of 8:30 a.m.

The board says the change will "[ensure] the greatest number of Radnor students benefit from the scientifically proven health benefits of increased sleep."

According to the board, the move will make RTSD the only school district in Southeastern Pennsylvania to successfully adjust its high school start time to align with the 8:30 a.m. start time recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association.

"I commend the dedicated and thorough work of our Sleep and School Start Time Committee, which allowed our district and board to feel confident in our solutions to the obstacles and, most importantly, that a change in schedule is best for our students," said superintendent Kenneth E. Batchelor.

"Everyone in Radnor should feel proud of what caring people accomplished on behalf of the township's youth."