Permanent daylight saving time could mean darker mornings for Louisiana students

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) – More sunshine after work sounds appealing to a lot of people.

But if Congress makes daylight saving time permanent, it could also mean darker mornings for students heading to school.

The U.S. House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide if approved by the Senate and signed by President Donald Trump.

Supporters say ending the twice-yearly clock changes would give families more daylight in the evening.

“No more clock changes, more usable evening daylight, and a system that works better for working families, rural communities and American agriculture,” said Rep. Troy Carter, D-Louisiana.

The tradeoff would come during the winter months, when sunrise would occur later, meaning more students could be traveling to school before daylight.

East Baton Rouge Parish Schools is already expanding later start times at a dozen schools. Transportation Director Rob Howle said those later start times could reduce the number of students waiting for buses before sunrise if permanent daylight saving time becomes law.

“If we ever transition to a situation where the majority of students might be getting picked up in the dark, that would definitely help. Since you have such a later start time, it’s also allowing them to get more sleep,” Howle said.

Howle said the district already prepares for dark, cold mornings by warming buses before they leave the lot and giving drivers flexibility to pick up students who may miss the bus.

“On those very cold days, our drivers make sure they crank the bus up earlier … and we try just to make sure they’re not out as long,” Howle said.

The bill now heads to the Senate. Trump has expressed support for making daylight saving time permanent, saying he would work to get the Sunshine Protection Act signed into law.

Louisiana already has a trigger law that would make daylight saving time permanent if Congress authorizes states to adopt the change.

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