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Pennsylvania's Public School Code, which was updated as part of the 2026-27 budget deal, adds a provision allowing school districts to use existing state education funding to implement later school start times.
The School Code, amended by House Bill 1505, permits school districts to use basic education, transportation and special education funding, among other state education dollars, to cover the costs of adopting later start times. Before adopting a later start time, districts would be required to post the proposal online and solicit public comment at two advertised school board meetings.
Districts that decide to adopt later start times will also have to report their new start times and how the funding was spent to the state Department of Education. The provision is not a mandate to implement later start times but gives them greater flexibility to do so.
Legislation promoting later school start times was advancing through the General Assembly before the budget provision was adopted.
In January, state Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Westmoreland, and state Rep. Tim Briggs, D-Montgomery, introduced House Bill 2152, which would encourage Pennsylvania schools to voluntarily adopt later start times for secondary schools, and permits funding 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.
To qualify, the school district would have to adopt a policy delaying the start of the instructional day for secondary students by at least 15 minutes, with a start time no earlier than 8:30 a.m., a measure that was not included in the amended School Code. In February, the House Education Committee passed HB 2152 unanimously.
As of 2026, nearly 50 Pennsylvania school districts in 23 counties have adopted later school start times, and Cooper said the amended School Code is likely to encourage more districts to follow suit. Pennsylvania has 500 school districts.
Though Cooper acknowledged that revising bus schedules, adjusting extracurricular activities and accommodating parents' work schedules could pose challenges for districts considering later start times, she said those barriers are "not insurmountable" and that the legislation is designed to give communities and school districts flexibility in how they implement the change.
There are also advocacy groups, such as the Regional Adolescent Sleep Needs Coalition, that advise and support school districts in making the transition to later start times, Cooper said.
"I like to use this analogy: If you owned a business and someone told you that starting the workday 30 minutes later would increase productivity 10-fold, you'd do it," she said. "By pushing school start times back, we see better academic performance, improved mental health and well-being and benefits for both personal and public safety."
During the 2017-18 legislative session, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution 417, directing the Joint State Government Commission to study secondary school start times.
The commission's report, "Sleep Deprivation in Adolescents: The Case for Delaying Secondary School Start Times," found that the ideal start time for secondary school students is 8:30 a.m. or later.
The 2019 study also found that insufficient sleep by high school students impacts school performance in terms of cognitive function and performance, graduation rates, attendance and tardiness.
The school start time provision mirrors the General Assembly's recent incremental approach to student cellphone policies. Lawmakers originally approved legislation allowing districts to use state funds to cover the cost of cell phone bans. However, after few districts voluntarily implemented the cell phone restrictions, lawmakers have turned their attention to a possible statewide ban on cell phone use by students during the school day.
The House most recently advanced House Bill 1814 in June, which would similarly require school boards to prohibit student cellphone use during the school day while leaving enforcement and disciplinary consequences to local officials.
HB 1814 is awaiting consideration by the Senate Education Committee.