Less work and more play? Sounds fake, right?

But alarming levels of stress from students have caused  the San Ramon Valley Unified School District to introduce a new homework policy this year that is supposed to lighten the load of work away from school for all students.

But there’s a catch: advanced, honors, and AP courses are exempt from this policy.

The new policy is expected to completely transform the academic load burdened on students’ shoulders from elementary to high school.

Some of the changes in the policy include a maximum of two hours of homework per class each week, no assigned homework over breaks, and the request of teachers to collaborate with colleagues in other subjects to prevent major overlapping of projects and tests.

But some students are frustrated that these changes don’t apply to the advanced courses that generate the most work and create the greatest amount of stress.

“I think it should apply to AP classes, so the athletes and other students can be considered,” said senior Fericia Terciano.

More than 50 percent of Cal students are enrolled in at least one advanced class, according to the counseling department.

Because of this, the policy does not apply to a large portion of the student population.

“I think it’s great,” senior Abby J.K. said about the policy. “I see a difference. But it’s kind of frustrating that AP classes are exempt from this. You’ll be lucky if an AP teacher takes it under consideration. I know friends that already have six hours of homework.”

As believed, most advancecourse teachers are taking advantage of this exemption and ignoring the policy.

“It’s not going to matter to me because I teach four honors classes,” said honors pre-calculus teacher  Gary Triebwasser. “It’s up to the teacher’s professional judgement.”

The majority of students interviewed tended to agree that the policy, in theory, is a good idea because it’s designed to create less stress. But the policy could simply end up being a waste of paper.

“I like that we have less homework, but I feel the teachers are going to take advantage of Cal High’s block schedule and still assign us more homework,” said junior Christina Dickman. “It won’t make a difference.”

Some students don’t feel the effectiveness of this policy at all, or have no faith in the differences that are supposed to occur. Sophomore Donna Kim is among the many students who believe the policy is a waste of time.

“There’s no change in homework,” said senior Evan Spiteri. “Maybe a little less, but not really a big or noticeable difference.”