A House Democrat announced Tuesday she’ll introduce a bill compelling federal educators to study whether schools should open later in the morning.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., said the legislation would require the Department of Education to conduct a study on the relationship between school start times and adolescent health and academic performance.
Lofgren’s proposal would inject federal education officials into what has been an intensely debated local issue as schools districts nationwide wrestle with proposals to delay start times for high schools.
Lofgren is a longtime proponent of later start times for high schools, which some experts say would help teenagers who some believe are naturally prone to staying up late at night.
She’s introduced several bills related to later start times. Two years ago, Lofgren introduced a non-binding resolution advising the nation’s high schools to ring opening bells at 9 a.m., but the proposal went nowhere.
Currently, most high schools begin classes between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.
“As I have long advocated, and as the American Academy of Pediatrics recently confirmed, adjusting school start times can be an important tool to improve students’ health and performance,” Lofgren said Tuesday. “This study will help local school districts recognize and use new information about the importance of sufficient sleep and the impact that school start times can have on adolescent well-being.”
In Fairfax County, Va., the school board has debated a proposal to move high school start times 40 minutes later. The move drew protests from some parents and the public, though others support the idea. It would cost $5 million for dozens of new buses and it would require middle school students to head to class up to one half-hour earlier.
Republicans, who run the House, haven’t indicated whether Lofgren’s proposal will get consideration in committee or on the House floor, but the GOP in general has mostly resisted efforts to bring federal control or influence into local school systems.
Lofgren spokesman Peter Whippy acknowledged Lofgren’s past attempts to introduce bills relating to later start times haven’t gone far, but said mounting research showing the health benefits of later start times could sway leaders to consider it more seriously this time.
“A department study would be invaluable to school districts looking to implement later start times,” Whippy said.
