I 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘ZZZ’s to A’s Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The Secretary of Education has not for8 mally issued policy guidance on school start times. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 8897 IH

1 (2) The American Academy of Sleep Medicine 

2 recommends 8 to 10 hours of sleep per day for teen3 agers aged 13 to 18 years, but early school start 

4 times are contributing to lack of sleep among adoles5 cents. 

6 (3) Despite the shift in biological rhythms dur7 ing puberty, which causes adolescents to sleep later 

8 at night and wake later in the morning, 72 percent 

9 of public high schools and 70 percent of public mid10 dle schools in the United States started before 8:30 

11 a.m. in the 2020–2021 school year. 

12 (4) The State of California became the first 

13 State to move back school start times beginning in 

14 the 2022–2023 school year and the State of Florida 

15 also passed legislation to do so by the 2026–2027 

16 school year. 

17 (5) Numerous local educational agencies across 

18 46 States have also recently changed or are consid19 ering changing school start times in an effort to im20 prove adolescent health, well-being, and perform21 ance. 

22 (6) The American Academy of Pediatrics has 

23 strongly supported efforts to optimize sleep in stu24 dents by delaying school start times since 2014. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 8897 IH

1 (7) Later school start times are associated 

2 with— 

3 (A) improvements in academic perform4 ance, including attendance rates, grade point 

5 averages, and test scores; 

6 (B) improvements in mental and physical 

7 health, including reduced risk of depression and 

8 obesity; and 

9 (C) improvements in public safety, includ10 ing reduced risk of automobile accidents. 

11 (8) A universal delay in school start times 

12 would be a cost-effective policy measure. 

13 (9) The mission of the Department of Edu14 cation is to promote student achievement and prepa15 ration for global competitiveness by fostering edu16 cational excellence and ensuring equal access. 

17 SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT. 

18 Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact19 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall— 

20 (1) conduct a study, directly or through the 

21 award of a grant or contract, to examine the rela22 tionship between school start times and adolescent 

23 health, well-being, and performance that— 

24 (A) provides a comprehensive review of the 

25 scientific evidence relating to school start times 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 8897 IH

1 and adolescent health, well-being, and perform2 ance; 

3 (B) compares adolescent health, well-being, 

4 and performance among local educational agen5 cies with different school start times; and 

6 (C) evaluates factors that contribute to or 

7 affect school start times; and 

8 (2) submit to Congress a report that de9 scribes— 

10 (A) the findings of the study; and 

11 (B) any recommendations of the Secretary 

12 based on such findings. 

13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

16 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 

17 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec18 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

19 (2) PERFORMANCE.—The term ‘‘performance’’ 

20 means a measurement of how well an individual 

21 achieves a desired task, and may include academic 

22 performance and cognitive performance. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS