The Healthy Homework Act, designed to prevent excessive homework in California schools, was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 29.
AB 2999, spearheaded by assembly member Pilar Schiavo in response to rising concerns towards homework in California, encourages school boards to incorporate student, parent and teacher feedback in crafting homework policies. This act requires schools to provide evidence-based homework policies that considers students’ mental and physical well-being, equitable access to technology and more.
“The Healthy Homework Act is about ensuring that our homework policies are healthy for our kids,” Schiavo said in a public announcement. “We know homework is a top three stressor in kids’ overall lives and is often cited as the number one stressor—it’s critical we incorporate homework practices into this discussion to relieve student stress, especially with something we could profoundly impact almost overnight.”
The act is in part intended to ease pressure on youth mental health. According to the CDC’s 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 42% of youth across America reported symptoms of depression, including feelings of sadness or hopelessness. AB 2999 identifies excessive homework as a contributing factor to this, linking it to sleep deprivation and higher stress, which are currently on the rise.
“I think there shouldn’t be too much homework, but also not too little homework,” history teacher Zane Pang said. “Too little homework is not beneficial because I think you still need to practice and good management skills, but anything over two hours is like too much—you need to have a life.”
Many Northwood students also believe that a more balanced homework load would help them manage academic stress.
“I think this law does have potential to help students, as overworking students doesn’t really help them do well in school,” junior Keiren McDermott said. “I think it’s the opposite, it just makes us feel more burnt out and can lead to more unnecessary stress.”
However, many suggested changes in the bill, such as greater community feedback and homework policies that encourage homework in moderation, are already in place, according to assistant principal Christina Banagas-Englerdt.
“As a school, we try to be very intentional with homework, and we review homework policies yearly with consideration of feedback from the school community,” Banagas-Englerdt said. “We are ahead of the curve on this issue, whether through our staff development days, clear department-level policies and review of course syllabuses.”
