Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Export, is pushing pretty hard to get high schools to start their day later in the morning.

It’s a topic that has been researched for decades, with experts at two virtual Rested and Ready forums convened by Cooper recently speaking about the possible benefits of a later start time for schools and how Cooper’s House Bill 2152 could help schools begin to move their start times. Cooper proposes state grants to schools that move their start times later into the day.

There are several studies that show too many adolescents aren’t getting enough sleep, with that lack of sleep affecting teenagers’ mental health. So far, California is the only state to mandate a later school start time, though Florida’s legislature had approved such a change before it was vetoed after pushback from school districts. That veto should be instructive for Cooper. Florida’s 2023 law was fought by schools over logistical hurdles that included bus shortages and young students waiting for buses in the dark.

We won’t say Cooper or the researchers are wrong. But Cooper is trying to incentivize the wrong group. She doesn’t need to be talking to school superintendents. She needs to be talking to parents. Yes, schools will have logistical issues when changing their start times. So, too, will parents, especially if start times are different for elementary and secondary schools. Parents have to work around school start times, too, and not all jobs have the flexibility to allow parents to spend more time at home in the mornings while they get additional children onto a second, later bus run. The same is true in the afternoon for parents who count on their high schoolers to be home with younger siblings in the afternoon until parents get home from work.

It’s especially worth considering what a change to start times will mean for parents because the state’s truancy laws result in parents having to go to court when their children miss too much school time. Ultimately, Cooper’s proposal is merely to give schools money to start school later rather than mandating the change. We prefer this decision to be made locally rather than in Harrisburg.

But we hope state lawmakers put as much stock in what parents have to say as they do other state lawmakers, education leaders and policy staff. In the end, it’s the parents being asked to foot the bill through local and state property taxes – they should have a say in changes that affect them.