How thousands of Howard County children get to school next year will soon change.The Howard County Public School System's plan will allow high school students to start the school day later, but it will require more students to walk to school.The plan that adjusts the distance in which students have to walk to school is raising another set of concerns.Anna Nemirovsky, the parent of a 10th grader at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City, said she's not pleased with the changes."I looked at it and said, 'This is ridiculous. All this entire area between (Routes) 40 and 99 are not equipped for walking," she said.In rolling out a new "walk zone," school bus service will no longer be available to elementary school students who live a mile from campus. Middle school students who live a mile and a half from their schools will have to walk. And, high school students who live 2 miles away from their schools must also walk to campus.| RELATED: Howard County changes who can ride the school bus in anticipation of decision on later start times"He's going to have to walk. There are no sidewalks on the route. He could either walk through the neighborhood, which has smaller streets, but we have construction this year in the neighborhood that is planned construction for the new neighborhood being built between us and the school," Nemirovsky said. "The other option is to walk along (Route) 99, which has no sidewalks (in) morning traffic, morning hours, it's dark in the winter -- definitely not a safe option for him either."| HCPSS LINK: Walk Area changes for 2023-24District officials said it's not too late for parents to speak up."We are encouraging families to keep having the conversation with the Office of Transportation. If they do have a concern about their path for their child to get to school, we want to make sure every child arrives safely," said Antonia Watts, president of the Howard County Board of Education.District officials said they want to ensure no one loses sight of why the changes are being made in the first place.| RELATED: Howard County considers moving high school start times later"We're just responding to the developmental needs of our young people to provide more opportunities for sleep, and that's our 'why.' As a result of that, we have to be more efficient with our transportation system," Howard County Public School System Superintendent Michael Martirano said.The district's transportation system still needs qualified bus drivers.The school system will reach out to parents early next month to try and get a count of how many students plan to take the bus to school.