There’s a bill in the works, that if passed, would make every public plus charter high school that receives state aid have a later start time.

There's a handful of districts already doing this.

“I think I’m a little bit more alert and attentive just because of that extra sleep,” says Maya Lerman, senior at Princeton High School.

Lerman is a rising senior, captain of her debate team, straight-A student and a night owl, starting school at 8:20 a.m. She wakes up around 7:45 a.m.

“I live really close to the school, so it's really wake up and go,” says Lerman.

The majority of students walk to Princeton High School for class. School gets out at 3:20 p.m. and it's a packed day. The schedule rotates, so some days could have a traditional 8-period day, or just four classes.

Dana Karas is the director of school counseling services for Princeton Public Schools, and so far – she likes what she's seeing.

“The first year that this was implemented, which was in the 2018-19 school year, there was actually a noted difference of 37% increase of attendance records of our students,” says Karas

Karas is proud the district continues to be a leader in the push for later start times for high schoolers, so they could get the recommended eight hours of sleep.

“Cause at the end of the day, that's really what it's all about,” says Karas. “How do we provide our students with the best educational opportunities that we can.”

We'll find out more once the New Jersey State Legislature is in session mid-September.