BATON ROUGE — The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board is considering a proposal to alter school start times for the upcoming academic year, a change administrators say could offer several benefits for students.

Under phase one of the plan, elementary schools including Capitol, Melrose, and Merrydale would begin classes at 8 a.m. and dismiss at 3:15 p.m. This is a slight adjustment from the current 8:25 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. schedule.

For secondary schools like Glen Oaks and Capitol High, the proposed start time would shift to 8:50 a.m., with the school day concluding at 4:05 p.m.

East Baton Rouge Schools Superintendent LaMont Cole stated the new times aim to improve student well-being and academic performance.

"We're going to do what's right for kids, for their safety, their biological cl

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