Fall isn’t the best time of year for kids who like to play outside after school! On November 6, most Americans turn their clocks back one hour. That means one less hour of daylight for after-school play.
It has to do with a system of telling time called daylight saving time (DST). DST starts in March, when most Americans move their clocks ahead one hour. This shifts an hour of sunlight from morning to evening. Then DST ends in November. Clocks are turned back an hour, moving more daylight back to morning.
Many people think this is a good way to make use of summer’s longer days and winter’s shorter days. But others say the changes make people sleepy by shifting bedtimes. Some people want to get rid of DST, while many want to make it permanent.
The U.S. Senate passed a bill, or an idea for a law, earlier this year. The bill is called the Sunshine Protection Act. It would make DST full time. People would set clocks forward one hour in March 2023 and then leave them alone. There would be no more clock changes!
To become a law, the bill needs to be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and President Joe Biden. It’s unclear when or if that might happen.