On February 23rd, 2023, the Howard County Board of Education voted for schools to start later in the 2023-2024 school year. 

There are three different tiers of start times. Schools in tier 1, such as both Oakland Mills Middle and High School, will start at 8:00 am and end at 2:45 pm. That also includes multiple middle schools. Tier 2 schools will begin at 8:40 am and end at 3:25 pm. These schools consist of middle and elementary schools. And finally, tier 3 schools will begin at 9:15 am and end at 3:45 pm which include the remainder of elementary schools in the Howard County district. 

The staggered start times was not the only change that was made. Elementary school students will be eligible for bus service as long as they live more than one mile away from their school. Middle school students who live more than 1.5 miles away from the school are eligible for bus service. Finally, high school students who live more than two miles away from the school have access to a bus as well. This means that students who live within a two mile radius of OM must walk if they weren’t already.

The new start times will also impact after school activities since they will now start later in the day. Although we are only starting school 35 minutes later than we are used to, some major adjustments of schedules may be needed. 

Sources:
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/howard-county-school-start-times-change/43051922# 
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/howard-county-school-bus-policy-changes/42959782 
https://news.hcpss.org/news-posts/2023/03/updates-for-the-2023-2024-school-year-related-to-start-times-and-transportation/ 
2023-2024 School Start Times Evaluation – HCPSS
Why was my student eligible for bus service this year but isn’t eligible next year? | Help (hcpss.org)