LANHAM, Md. (CBSDC)- Parents in yet another school district want their children to start school later in the day so they can get more sleep and be more focused in classrooms.

A group of parents planned to present a petition at the Anne Arundel County Board of Education meeting Thursday night, hoping to establish a policy that classes can’t begin before 8 a.m. and buses can’t pick students up before 7 a.m.

Currently, high school classes in the county begin at 7:17 a.m., the earliest time in Maryland and among the earliest in the nation, according to the group’s petition website. Buses begin arriving at their stops as early as 5:50 a.m.

The same site referenced Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data that says sleep deprivation in teens is linked to physical and mental problems including increased risk of depression, substance abuse and obesity.

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