Board of Education Adopts Balanced Adjustment to School Start and End Times

The Metro Nashville Board of Education unanimously approved a proposal to make a balanced adjustment to school start and end times starting in the 2026-27 school year, following months of community engagement and a detailed technical review with school transportation experts 4MATIV to ensure the plan is feasible and responsive to student and family needs.

“This decision reflects months of listening to our community and carefully weighing what is both meaningful for students and workable for families and educators,” said Dr. Adrienne Battle, Superintendent of Nashville Public Schools. “Even modest adjustments can make a real difference, and this plan moves us forward in a thoughtful, responsible way.”

The adopted plan makes a modest but impactful adjustment across the district, including moving high school start times 20 minutes later, while preserving current middle school dismissal times and limiting the overall systemwide impact. Elementary school start and end times would shift by 10 minutes. The changes reduce the time between tiered start times from 55 minutes to 45 minutes and are designed to better align with research on adolescent sleep, respond to community feedback, and remain operationally sound.

The following will be the tiered start times for zoned schools with MNPS-provided transportation. Optional magnet and charter schools are not impacted by the change:

• High schools will start at 7:25 a.m. and dismiss at 2:25 p.m.
• Elementary schools and Early Learning Centers will start at 8:10 a.m. Elementary schools will dismiss at 3:10 p.m., and Early Learning Centers will dismiss at 2:10 p.m.
• Middle schools will start at 8:55 a.m. and dismiss at 3:55 p.m.

The Board’s action follows a multi-phase School Start Time Study launched in fall 2025 in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and supported by external transportation and education experts. The process included surveys, focus groups, town halls, and school-based conversations conducted over several months, resulting in more than 23,000 responses across two districtwide surveys. Feedback was collected in multiple languages and represented families, students, staff, and community members across all grade levels.

"I'm thankful to the Board and community for their thoughtful decision because this will improve the supportive learning environment for all our students," said Mayor Freddie O'Connell, who partnered with MNPS to secure funding to initiate the study with 4MATIV. "This shows that we can take a step in the direction of the evidence, and sometimes that ability to make a change is important to demonstrate to ourselves."

Survey results showed broad agreement that while the current tiered structure generally works for families, high school start times feel early for many students. A majority of respondents supported a model that changed start times later, with the strongest support of those for the targeted, balanced approach outlined here. 

In parallel with community engagement, MNPS conducted a technical analysis of transportation and operations with consulting partner 4MATIV. The review confirmed it is feasible to shorten the time between school start tiers through targeted route adjustments, stop consolidation where appropriate, and careful rebalancing of bus routes, without changing the number of tiers or pushing middle school dismissal later in the day.

“I’m grateful to the students, families, staff, and community members who shared feedback and helped shape a system designed to create meaningful change with minimal disruption to family routines,” said Board Member Erin O’Hara Block. “While no schedule is ever perfect in a large urban district with complex transportation needs, we believe this is a positive step for our students, families, and staff.”

Following the Board’s approval, MNPS will begin detailed implementation planning, including route adjustments, system configuration, and coordination with schools and transportation staff. Families and staff will receive additional information as planning progresses ahead of implementation in the 2026-27 school year.