(File Photo of a Top of a School Bus)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Westmoreland County, PA) A new bill in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives encourages schools to enact later start times by letting districts use grant money to make the change. The bill, which is sponsored by Westmoreland County Representative Jill Cooper, authorizes secondary schools to use money from the School Safety and Mental Health Grant program to implement later school start times. The recommendation is to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Studies show that 80% of teenagers in the U.S. are sleep deprived. If the bill becomes law, schools can access money to help with changing after-school programs, bus schedules, or other related changes.