A bipartisan effort to eliminate twice-yearly clock changes faces growing Senate opposition over concerns that permanent daylight saving time would force millions of children to travel to school before sunrise.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the United States remains stalled in the Senate as lawmakers raise concerns about student safety, particularly in northern and rural communities where winter sunrises already occur late in the morning.
The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House of Representatives on July 14 by a bipartisan vote of 308–117, with support from 193 Republicans, 114 Democrats and one independent. The measure would eliminate the twice-yearly practice of changing clocks by keeping daylight saving time in effect throughout the year.
Despite overwhelming House approval, Senate leaders have not scheduled a vote, leaving the legislation’s future uncertain less than three weeks before Americans are scheduled to return to standard time.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has acknowledged that lawmakers remain divided over the proposal.
“I’m from a northern climate,” Thune told reporters earlier this year, citing concerns about the effect of permanent daylight saving time on winter mornings.
According to The Hill, Thune previously opposed the legislation in the Senate Commerce Committee and has indicated that insufficient support exists to advance it.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Republicans to pass the measure, arguing that eliminating seasonal clock changes would reduce inconvenience and provide Americans with additional daylight during evening hours.
On October 3, Trump intensified his campaign by posting the cellphone number of Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and urging Arkansas residents to contact him about his opposition.
Cotton defended his position by pointing to the country’s previous experiment with permanent daylight saving time during the 1970s.
“Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark,” Cotton wrote, according to the Arkansas Advocate.
Congress adopted year-round daylight saving time in January 1974 during the national energy crisis. However, public dissatisfaction with dark winter mornings contributed to lawmakers restoring standard time later that year.
Critics of the current proposal argue that a permanent shift would recreate those conditions, particularly for children waiting at bus stops before sunrise.
Under permanent daylight saving time, sunrise on January 15 would occur at approximately 8:35 a.m. in Kansas City, Missouri, and 8:51 a.m. in Billings, Montana, according to projections from AccuWeather.
Those times would place many students’ morning commutes entirely in darkness.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has similarly expressed concerns about school transportation safety, while Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., has suggested that permanent standard time would be preferable to permanent daylight saving time.
The debate has also drawn attention to the early start times common in American schools.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public high schools started classes at an average time of 7:59 a.m. during the 2011–2012 school year.
That schedule means many students already leave home before sunrise during portions of the winter.
Some supporters of the Sunshine Protection Act argue that school districts could address the problem by delaying their morning schedules.
Research suggests later school start times can improve adolescent sleep and potentially benefit attendance, academic performance and safety.
A CDC review of 38 studies found that later start times were generally associated with longer sleep duration, reduced tardiness and improvements in several student outcomes.
However, education officials warn that changing school schedules would create substantial logistical challenges.
In Walker County, Alabama, Superintendent Dennis Willingham said students already board school buses before daylight during portions of the school year.
“Our kids are catching the bus when it’s still dark outside,” Willingham told The Hill.
Adjusting those schedules could affect parents’ work arrangements, transportation routes, childcare availability and extracurricular activities.
Clayton Lavercombe, freshman principal at Springboro High School in Ohio, emphasized that school start times are connected to numerous community responsibilities.
“There’s a lot of ramifications for changing the start time,” Lavercombe said.
Terra Ziporyn Snider, executive director and co-founder of Start School Later, warned that permanent daylight saving time could worsen existing problems unless school districts adjust their schedules.
She said the policy could leave “even more students” traveling to school in darkness.
Supporters of the legislation counter that additional evening daylight could improve recreational opportunities, reduce disruptions associated with seasonal clock changes and potentially benefit businesses.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has promoted the measure as a way to establish consistency for families and workers.
Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., who introduced the House legislation, has argued that ending seasonal time changes would improve public safety and encourage healthier lifestyles.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has said he is working to secure a Senate vote during the post-election congressional session in November or December.
However, the legislation must overcome opposition from senators concerned about its effects on winter mornings before reaching Trump’s desk.
Unless Congress acts, most Americans will set their clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026, returning to standard time.
Daylight saving time is scheduled to resume March 14, 2027.
The unresolved debate illustrates a fundamental disagreement over how Americans should allocate daylight: providing additional sunlight during evening hours or preserving earlier winter sunrises for students, workers and morning commuters.
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