Gabrielle Russon
Sen. Jennifer Bradley has filed a bill to undo a state law mandating later start times for middle and high schools.
Under the current rules set to go into effect next year, a middle school can’t begin earlier than 8 a.m. High schools can start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. Elementary schools have no start time requirement.
Bradley’s legislation (SB 296) would end those limits, allowing schools to start earlier. Some school officials are expressing concerns about how to manage busing under later start times. The Legislature passed the new start time rules in 2023 (HB 733), which are set to go into effect July 1, 2026.
Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
The Legislature in 2023 sought to move back start times as lawmakers said they were worried that young people aren’t getting enough sleep. Nearly half of public high schools and about a quarter of charter schools in Florida begin instruction before 7:30 a.m., according to Wildwood Republican Rep. John Temple, who sponsored HB 733.
Studies have shown adolescents and teens need between eight and 10 hours of sleep nightly but have difficulty falling asleep before 11 p.m.
“Constantly, we talk about the mental health of our young people and what we need to do to make it better. But what are we doing?” Temple said during debate on the bill.
Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a Democrat from Windemere who voted against HB 733, voiced concerns that the state was making changes without hearing from stakeholders first.
“We’re doing things a little backward,” she said. “Hopefully we’re not going to be here three years from now saying, ‘Oops, we made a mistake.’”
Now some school leaders are pushing back over HB 733.
“We’re asking for more local control over this,” Duval County Superintendent Christopher Bernier said at a town hall this month, according to First Coast News.
For the District, a big challenge with the new rules revolved around busing and being able to transport all students to school. District leaders say they need an hour between start times for elementary, middle and high schools.
