New state laws in California and Florida represent the most substantial policy victories to date for the Start School Later movement, a collective effort among medical associations, sleep researchers, and health advocates to alter school schedules for the benefit of adolescents’ sleep and their overall health. Yet we know little about the sociological mechanisms driving these policy changes and how medical professional organizations portray biomedical science to policy stakeholders in ways that compel reform. Drawing upon over 300 documents including policy statements, published research, online educational materials, and legislative hearings, we examine the public-facing messaging among medical professionals, sleep scientists, and advocacy groups in the Start School Later movement between 2014 and 2023. Physicians and sleep scientists exercise their cultural authority about teen sleep in three ways: a) They define the source of the problem as primarily biological and claim unique expertise in the biomedical sciences; b) They invoke consensus among experts on the problem of teen sleep; c) They work to “educate the public” about biomedical science to compel policy action and address opposition. We conclude with discussion of the limits and possibilities of medical and health officials to address public health problems through interventions in education policy.
