Schools could decide own start times again as bill moves through Senate

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Principals, parents and Superintendents could soon breathe a collective sigh of relief.

A bill to overturn a 2023 law requiring middle and high schools to start later cleared its third and final Senate committee.

The latest vote of support came Thursday from the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee, which backed SB 296 with a vote of 19-0.

In 2023, lawmakers worried about teens not getting enough sleep and passed a law that mandated that middle schools couldn’t start before 8 a.m. The measure also said high schools could start at 8:30 a.m. at the earliest.

“This very well-intentioned law sought to ensure that our students were well-rested,” said Sen. Jennifer Bradley, the Fleming Island Republican who filed SB 296.

The 2023 law didn’t officially take hold until 2026. But as school districts began preparing, it became clear the Tallahassee mandate threatened to skyrocket their expenses and become a logistical nightmare. Many schools either don’t have enough buses or can’t hire enough bus drivers. Some elementary students might wait in the dark if their school had to start earlier to account for the later middle and high schools.

“It is an arduous task as a School Board member to change and push back school start times,” said Democratic Sen. Rosalind Osgood, a former Broward County School Board member. “You have to change so many elements.”

SB 296 would repeal the start time rule and let school districts make their own decisions on when the school bell rings.

An amendment OK’d Thursday would require schools to submit a report to the state detailing their considerations in picking their start times and the unintended consequences if schools started later. Once schools give the report to the Florida Department of Education, they would be considered in compliance with state law.

“The reporting will not be a burden because the districts have for the last two years been looking at this issue,” said one advocate representing rural school districts during the hearing.

Former Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said the 2023 bill had been a priority of Speaker Paul Renner.

“I have not spoken with him, but I think he would be very happy with the amendment, because it goes in the spirit of his intention of just making sure our students have proper sleep,” she said.