Florida Legislature reverses course, abandons plan to push back middle, high school start times
The Florida House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that would back away from a requirement aimed at starting high-school and middle-school classes later in the morning.
The Legislature in 2023 passed a law that would prevent high schools from starting earlier than 8:30 a.m. to help teens get more sleep. The law was slated to take effect in 2026, but many school districts said they were struggling to comply with the deadline because of issues such as a need to buy more buses and hire hard-to-find bus drivers.
Also, districts said starting school later could affect students’ after-school activities and families’ child care. SB 296 would allow districts to avoid the requirements if they submit reports to the Florida Department of Education that include information about issues such as school start times and strategies considered to have later start times for middle and high schools.
House bill sponsor Anne Gerwig, R-Wellington, described the 2023 law as “well-intentioned” but pointed to the compliance issues. But Rep. LaVon Bracy Davis, D-Ocoee, said lawmakers were warned about “unintended consequences” of the 2023 law related to issues such as a lack of bus drivers and additional costs to school districts.
Before the bill passed, Duval County Public Schools was considering multiple options to be in compliance with the requirements set in 2023 for later school times.
A survey with the different options was sent out to parents earlier in the year. The options were a concern for parents like Lauren Agresti and Amanda Cagan.
“Unfortunately, I was trying to vote for something, and there wasn’t really an option that seemed feasible,” Cagan said.
“All of the times offered by DCPS were really pretty much impractical, but it was the best option that they could do, given that we have buses only enough to stagger times,” Agresti said.
Under the law, middle schools could not start earlier than 8 a.m., but the issue primarily centered on high-school students.
Now, parents can hopefully breathe a sigh of relief going forward.
“I think it’s really great that the power is back with the local school district, to figure out how to actually make that work in our community and with the resources and things that we have and the needs of our parents and students,” Cagan said.
News4JAX reached out to DCPS about the matter. They sent the following statement:
“This is a good step forward, and we are grateful to the Legislature for listening to the voices of parents and educators across Florida. We will continue to monitor the progress of this pending legislation.”
The House unanimously passed the bill, which was approved last month by the Senate. It is ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ariel Schiller joined the News4Jax team as an evening reporter in September of 2023. She comes to Jacksonville from Tallahassee where she worked at ABC27 as a Weekend Anchor/Reporter for 10 months