District considering standardized school start times
With the goal of increasing the efficiency of bus transportation, HISD is currently conducting a survey to collect parent feedback as they consider standardizing school start times across all grade levels starting in the 2018-19 school year.
Across more than 280 campuses, HISD manages 67 different school start times – which is the highest number in the state. This poses challenges to delivering safe, reliable, and affordable transportation for students. Those challenges include: ineffective routes, increased cost of maintenance and repairs, and reduced availability for field trips and athletic events (an increased cost for campuses).
The benefits of standardized start times include: increased ridership, efficient routes that arrive and depart on time, and extended life of the bus fleet.
Several options are being weighed to standardize times. K-8 campuses would fall under the elementary school schedule, and 6-12 campuses would fall under the middle/high school schedule. The options are:
Option 1:
Elementary school start time: 8:15 a.m.
Elementary school dismissal time: 3:35 p.m.
Middle school start time: 7:15 a.m.
Middle school dismissal time: 2:35 p.m.
High school start time: 7:15 a.m.
High school dismissal time: 2:35 p.m.
Option 2:
Elementary school start time: 7:15 a.m.
Elementary school dismissal time: 2:35 p.m.
Middle school start time: 8:45 a.m.
Middle school dismissal time: 4:05 p.m.
High school start time: 8:45 a.m.
High school dismissal time: 4:05 p.m.
Option 3:
Elementary school start time: 8:45 a.m.
Elementary school dismissal time: 4:05 p.m.
Middle school start time: 7:30 a.m.
Middle school dismissal time: 2:50 p.m.
High school start time: 7:30 a.m.
High school dismissal time: 2:50 p.m.
Option 4:
Elementary school start time: 7:30 a.m.
Elementary school dismissal time: 2:50 p.m.
Middle school start time: 8:30 a.m.
Middle school dismissal time: 3:50 p.m.
High school start time: 8:30 a.m.
High school dismissal time: 3:50 p.m.
The parent survey will close on Nov. 6.
