ZZZ’s to A’s Act

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- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘ZZZ’s to A’s Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds the following: 6 (1) The Secretary of Education has not for- 7 mally issued policy guidance on school start times. 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1861.IH H1861 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1861 IH (2) Eight to 10 hours of sleep a day is rec- 1 ommended for teenagers aged 13 to 18 years, but 2 early school start times are contributing to lack of 3 sleep among adolescents. 4 (3) Despite the shift in biological rhythms dur- 5 ing puberty, which causes adolescents to sleep later 6 at night and wake later in the morning, 93 percent 7 of high schools and 83 percent of middle schools in 8 the United States started before 8:30 a.m. in 2014. 9 (4) Numerous local educational agencies across 10 46 States have recently changed or are considering 11 changing school start times in an effort to improve 12 adolescent health, well-being, and performance. 13 (5) Later school start times are associated 14 with— 15 (A) improvements in academic perform- 16 ance, including attendance rates, grade point 17 averages, and test scores; 18 (B) improvements in mental and physical 19 health, including reduced risk of depression and 20 obesity; and 21 (C) improvements in public safety, includ- 22 ing reduced risk of automobile accidents. 23 (6) A universal delay in school start times 24 would be a cost-effective policy measure. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1861.IH H1861 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1861 IH (7) The Department of Education’s mission is 1 to promote student achievement and preparation for 2 global competitiveness by fostering educational excel- 3 lence and ensuring equal access. 4 SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT. 5 Not later than 18 months after the date of the enact- 6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall— 7 (1) conduct a study, directly or through the 8 award of a grant or contract, to examine the rela- 9 tionship between school start times and adolescent 10 health, well-being, and performance that— 11 (A) provides a comprehensive review of the 12 scientific evidence relating to school start times 13 and adolescent health, well-being, and perform- 14 ance; 15 (B) compares adolescent health, well-being, 16 and performance among local educational agen- 17 cies with different school start times; and 18 (C) evaluates factors that contribute to or 19 affect school start times; and 20 (2) submit to Congress a report that de- 21 scribes— 22 (A) the findings of the study; and 23 (B) any recommendations of the Secretary 24 based on such findings. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1861.IH H1861 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1861 IH SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 3 ‘‘local educational agency’’ has the meaning given 4 the term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec- 5 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 6 (2) PERFORMANCE.—The term ‘‘performance’’ 7 means a measurement of how well an individual 8 achieves a desired task, and may include academic 9 performance and cognitive performance. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1861.IH H1861 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS