I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1861 
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 
MARCH 25, 2019 
Ms. LOFGREN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
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 Representa-
tives 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 for-
mally issued policy guidance on school start times. 
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(2) Eight to 10 hours of sleep a day is rec-
ommended 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 dur-
ing puberty, which causes adolescents to sleep later 
at night and wake later in the morning, 93 percent 
of high schools and 83 percent of middle schools in 
the United States started before 8:30 a.m. in 2014. 
(4) Numerous local educational agencies across 
46 States have recently changed or are considering 
changing school start times in an effort to improve 
adolescent health, well-being, and performance. 
(5) Later school start times are associated 
with— 
(A) improvements in academic perform-
ance, 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, includ-
ing reduced risk of automobile accidents. 
(6) A universal delay in school start times 
would be a cost-effective policy measure. 
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(7) The Department of Education’s mission is 
to promote student achievement and preparation for 
global competitiveness by fostering educational excel-
lence and ensuring equal access. 
SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT. 
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact-
ment 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 rela-
tionship 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 perform-
ance; 
(B) compares adolescent health, well-being, 
and performance among local educational agen-
cies 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 de-
scribes— 
(A) the findings of the study; and 
(B) any recommendations of the Secretary 
based on such findings. 
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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 Sec-
ondary 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. 
Æ 
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