[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8897 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8897
To direct the Secretary of Education to conduct a study to determine
the relationship between school start times and adolescent health,
well-being, and performance.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 28, 2024
Ms. Lofgren introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Education to conduct a study to determine
the relationship between school start times and adolescent health,
well-being, and performance.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``ZZZ's to A's Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Secretary of Education has not formally issued
policy guidance on school start times.
(2) The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 8 to
10 hours of sleep per day for teenagers aged 13 to 18 years,
but early school start times are contributing to lack of sleep
among adolescents.
(3) Despite the shift in biological rhythms during puberty,
which causes adolescents to sleep later at night and wake later
in the morning, 72 percent of public high schools and 70
percent of public middle schools in the United States started
before 8:30 a.m. in the 2020-2021 school year.
(4) The State of California became the first State to move
back school start times beginning in the 2022-2023 school year
and the State of Florida also passed legislation to do so by
the 2026-2027 school year.
(5) Numerous local educational agencies across 46 States
have also recently changed or are considering changing school
start times in an effort to improve adolescent health, well-
being, and performance.
(6) The American Academy of Pediatrics has strongly
supported efforts to optimize sleep in students by delaying
school start times since 2014.
(7) Later school start times are associated with--
(A) improvements in academic performance, including
attendance rates, grade point averages, and test
scores;
(B) improvements in mental and physical health,
including reduced risk of depression and obesity; and
(C) improvements in public safety, including
reduced risk of automobile accidents.
(8) A universal delay in school start times would be a
cost-effective policy measure.
(9) The mission of the Department of Education is to
promote student achievement and preparation for global
competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and
ensuring equal access.
SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT.
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Education shall--
(1) conduct a study, directly or through the award of a
grant or contract, to examine the relationship between school
start times and adolescent health, well-being, and performance
that--
(A) provides a comprehensive review of the
scientific evidence relating to school start times and
adolescent health, well-being, and performance;
(B) compares adolescent health, well-being, and
performance among local educational agencies with
different school start times; and
(C) evaluates factors that contribute to or affect
school start times; and
(2) submit to Congress a report that describes--
(A) the findings of the study; and
(B) any recommendations of the Secretary based on
such findings.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational
agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 8101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801).
(2) Performance.--The term ``performance'' means a
measurement of how well an individual achieves a desired task,
and may include academic performance and cognitive performance.
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