Public schools start their days pretty early — some say is earlier than is healthy for the students they are educating.

The time of the day that school should start has been a topic of public conversation for years, and the involvement of Seneca Valley School District in discussions around a bill in the General Assembly could soon turn the issue from a conversation to some action.

The district’s superintendent, Tracy Vitale, was a panelist in the “Rested and Ready” virtual forum, which invited professionals and stakeholders to talk about the implications of Pennsylvania House Bill 2152. The bill proposes financially incentivizing school districts to adopt later start times “aligned with adolescent sleep science.”

During the panel, Vitale said the benefits for later start times are clear. Students of Seneca Valley intermediate and senior high schools start the first period of the day just after 8 a.m.: half an hour later than just a few years ago.

Some lawmakers already seem to be in agreement on moving school start times to later in the morning — the bipartisan house bill recently moved forward in a 26-0 vote out of the House Education Committee. Lawmakers referenced studies from groups like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association, which point to how early start times can compromise physical and mental health.

Even beyond these studies and observations from educators are the feelings of the people a bill like House Bill 2152 would affect most, young people and teachers. Ask any teenager about how they feel about getting up for school in the morning and they’ll probably say it’s less than ideal. Come summer, it is unlikely that most of these students will be waking up as early as their school dictates.

Maybe these are all signs school doesn’t have to start at the crack of dawn. Starting even a little later in the day will not change much of a student’s routine, so even if the bill spurs a trial run of a later start time at a school, the results should be watched.

— ET