Academy District 20 suspends decision to change start and end times for 2024-25 school year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Academy District 20 will not be implementing new start and end times for the 2024/2025 school year. This decision was announced Tuesday morning in a message to the D20 community.

In January, D20 announced plans to change the times for the 2023/2024 school year. After heavy pushback from some parents, the district planned to implement the changes in the following year.

This decision, however, is now entirely suspended.

In a message to parents, the district said the decision to suspend the changes comes after "considerable feedback." D20 said after a comprehensive study, committees, town halls, and a district-wide survey officials determined the district isn't close to finding a "logistically feasible solution that meets the goal of student wellness."

D20 did state its long-term goal is to create a start and end time schedule where secondary students start later than younger students. Moving forward, the district will continue researching and evaluating the logistics needed for that goal.

Below is the full statement released to D20 staff and families:

After considerable feedback, we will suspend our decision to change School Start/End Times for the 2024-25 school year. 

To date, we conducted a comprehensive study, held committees and town halls, and deployed a district-wide survey. Still, we are not closer to finding a logistically feasible solution that meets the goal of student wellness.

You may be asking, what’s next? Our long-term goal remains; creating a Start/End Time Schedule where secondary students start later than their younger peers. Moving forward, we will continue researching and evaluating the logistics needed for optimal start times, which includes transportation resources. 

We recognize this has been a challenging process for all involved. Thank you for your feedback and support as we navigated this situation together.  

Academy District 20