In September 2023, FCPS awarded a contract to Prismatic Services, Inc., to develop a plan for changing middle school start times. The plan explores starting the middle school day at 8 a.m. or after. In order to minimize any cost for this project, elementary and high school start times would need to change as well.

Our top priority is always to do what is best for our students.

Current School Start Times ¹

Elementary	Middle	Secondary/High
8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. thru 9:20 a.m. - 4:05 p.m.	7:30 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.	8:10 a.m. - 2:55 p.m. (HS) 8:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. (SS)

¹ Start times of several specialty and a few regular schools not shown.

Options Presented to the School Board in February 2025

Level	Current 1	A	B	C	C2	D	E
ES	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. thru 9:20 a.m. - 4:05 p.m.	7:45 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. or 8:15 a.m. - 3 p.m.	8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. or 9:20 a.m. - 4:05 p.m.	8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. or 9 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. 2	8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. or 9:10 a.m. - 3:55 p.m. 4	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. or 9:20 a.m. - 4:05 p.m.	9 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. or 9:50 a.m. - 4:35 p.m. 3
MS	7:30 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.	8:45 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.	9 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.	9:30 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.	9:40 a.m. - 4:25 p.m.	9 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.	8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
SS	8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.	8:15 a.m. - 3 p.m.	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.	8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
HS	8:10 a.m. - 2:55 p.m.	9:15 a.m. - 4 p.m.	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.	8:10 a.m. - 2:55 p.m.	8:40 a.m. - 3:25 p.m.
Run Time	110	90	80	90	100	80	110
Buses	783	+0-25	+20-30	+0-15	-10-0	+75-150	+0
Cost	N/A	+$0-1.8M	+$1.4-2.1M	+$0-1.1M	+$0	+$6.4-17.3M	+$0

¹ Start times of several specialty and a few regular schools not shown.
² ES begin at 9:30 a.m.
³ All ES shift by 30 minutes from current SST
⁴ Seven ES begin at 9:05 a.m.

Options for School Board and Community Feedback 

FCPS staff have identified the following cost-neutral options for adjusting school start times. One of the options was developed by FCPS' transportation team, and Option 2 was one of the options presented to the board in February. Both options are designed to support student well-being, align with research, and balance transportation logistics. Community feedback on the two options below will be shared with the School Board as they consider the path forward. 

Option 1 (Elementary Schools First)			Option 2 (30 Minutes Later Than Current Times)*
Elementary	Secondary/High	Middle	Middle	Secondary/High	Elementary
7:45 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.	9 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.	9:35 a.m. - 4:20 p.m.	8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.	8:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. (SS)	9 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
8:10 a.m. - 2:55 p.m.	9 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.	9:35 a.m. - 4:20 p.m.	8 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.	8:40 a.m. - 3:25 p.m. (HS)	9:50 a.m. - 4:35 p.m.

*Option 2 is the same as Option E in the February 2025 slide presentation shared with the School Board.

Community Engagement

Providing feedback opportunities for families, staff, students, and community members is a critical part of this effort. The consultant hosted five community forums in spring 2024 and administered two surveys.

In September 2025, FCPS staff members are sharing a brief  K-12 School Start Times presentation  during  community boundary review meetings . Staff also provided a QR code to participate in a short  survey  regarding the proposed start and end time options noted above. Hard copies of the survey are available as needed. The School Start Times survey will close on Monday, October 6.

Spring 2024 Community Forums

The public was invited to attend community forums to learn more about the middle school start times project and share feedback. Four community forums took place in April and May 2024. 

Documentation:  Background   I  Spring Series Outcomes
PowerPoint Presentation (PDF):  English   I  Spanish
Note: Certain slides contain images and cannot be translated. 

Virtual Session Recording To access closed captions in other languages, click on the “CC” icon to display, then click on the “Settings” icon. Then click on Subtitles/CC (1), click on Auto-Translate, and choose your preferred language.

Why Is FCPS Exploring Whether or Not to Change School Start Times?

FCPS middle schools start at 7:30 a.m. Research shows that later start times may have positive impacts on student academic performance and mental and emotional well-being. 

In 2011, FCPS surveyed 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students and found that two-thirds of students reported sleeping seven hours or less on an average school night. That is at least two hours short of the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours needed per night. 

In 2012, the School Board passed a resolution stating that, “ because of the benefits to student health, well-being, and performance, it is a goal of the Fairfax County School Board to achieve high school start times after 8 a.m., so that students are able to obtain a healthy and sufficient amount of sleep, as defined by sleep research and medical experts. ”

In 2013, a contract was awarded to the National Children’s Medical Center (NCMC) to research the effects of sleep on adolescents, and to work with the School Board and staff to devise a plan for FCPS students. This plan was known as the Blueprint for Change.

NCMC found that high school classes beginning at 7:20 a.m. could negatively affect student health. In October 2014, the  board voted to delay high school start times to 8 a.m. or after, beginning in the 2015-16 school year. As a result, middle school start times moved up to 7:30 a.m. FCPS’ superintendent in 2015 stated that she would consider pushing back middle school start times at a later date.