The Howard County Public School System hosts its second community forum Wednesday on school start and dismissal time changes.
Public comment is welcome at the meeting, which will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at Howard High School, located at 8700 Old Annapolis Road in Ellicott City.
The HCPSS School Start and Dismissal Time Committee presented four models for school start and dismissal times in a report to the Howard County Board of Education at its Nov. 17 meeting.
The new report, available here, presents four alternative models from the current start/dismissal times which would go into effect for the 2017 to 2018 school year.
In the four models, all middle and high school start times are no earlier than 8:15 a.m. Elementary schools have the earliest start times ranging from 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. All students would attend school for six hours and 45 minutes each day - an increase of 15 minutes for elementary schools.
During the first meeting on Nov. 30, many parents spoke out against the early elementary start times, while education officials spoke of the benefits a schedule change would have on high school students' sleep schedules.
RELATED: Howard Co. school officials consider changing start times
A third community forum is set for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Reservoir High School in Ellicott City.
The public can also fill out an online feedback form on the subject. It will be available through Wednesday, Dec. 14.
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