HARRISBURG – School start times for PA secondary students would start later under bipartisan legislation proposed by Westmoreland County Republican Rep. Jill Cooper and Montgomery County Democrat Rep. Tim Briggs. Studies have shown that high school students require an average of 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night; however, many PA secondary schools begin before the recommended 8:30 a.m. In the 2017-18 legislative session, the PA Senate adopted Senate Resolution 417 which directed the Joint State Government Commission to establish a committee to conduct a study on secondary school start time. The study called “Sleep Deprivation in Adolescents: The Case for Delaying Secondary School Start Times,” notes that the ideal start time for secondary school students is 8:30 a.m. or later. The proposal authorizes PA school entities to voluntarily adopt later start times for secondary schools and permits funds from the School Safety and Mental Health Grant Program to be used to alleviate costs associated with the planning, implementation or operation of a later school start time.
REP. TIM BRIGGS
REP. JILL COOPER