School officials will soon be gearing up to push back start times for many high schools under a new law that mandates changes to the beginning of the school day 鈥� but some lawmakers and education experts are wary of the challenges that could come with such a change.
The changes stem from a measure (HB 733) approved by the Legislature earlier this month and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis days later. Under the law, which goes into effect in July, middle schools will be prevented from beginning the 鈥渋nstructional day鈥� earlier than 8 a.m., while high schools will be barred from starting the school day before 8:30 a.m.
High schools will experience the most significant changes. About 48 percent of Florida鈥檚 public high schools start school before 7:30 a.m., according to the Legislature鈥檚 Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability.
Senate bill sponsor Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, and other supporters of the measure touted the mandate as a way to help students get more sleep before the school day begins.
鈥淭his is one of those pieces of legislation where we understand the 鈥榳hy鈥� very well. Studies, medical science, has shown that this is what鈥檚 best. What we鈥檙e doing now is not what's best for our kids. For the adolescents especially,鈥� Burgess said during a May 4 Senate debate on the proposal.
As the bill advanced, Rep. Bruce Antone, D-Orlando, repeatedly raised concerns about increased costs and other challenges for school districts. In a recent interview with The News Service of Florida, Antone commended the idea of trying to ensure students get more sleep. But he also questioned whether imposing start times on districts throughout the state was 鈥渨ell-thought out.鈥�
鈥淚t was just something that sounded like a great idea,鈥� Antone said. 鈥淎nd then they were like, we鈥檙e going to pass it and y鈥檃ll are going to figure it out.鈥�
Antone represents an area that includes one of Florida鈥檚 largest school districts, Orange County Public Schools. Antone told the News Service that a one-size-fits-all approach could put an outsized strain on Orange and other large districts.
鈥淚t puts some hard start times in place. And even though it gives the school districts until 2026 to begin implementing the plan, I鈥檓 not sure this bill should be dictating what鈥檚 best for Orange County Schools, what鈥檚 best for Miami-Dade, what鈥檚 best for Broward, Palm Beach, Duval,鈥� Antone said.
The measure includes what Burgess described as a 鈥渢hree-year glide path,鈥� giving districts until July of 2026 to implement the changes.
Lawmakers also during the 2023 legislative session earmarked $5 million to help implement the start-time changes, including a requirement that the state Department of Education survey 鈥渟ix department-selected school superintendents which represent two small, two medium, and two large counties regarding the estimated costs to implement such school start times.鈥�
But Antone warned the changes could lead to much larger costs. For example, the later start times could force Orange and other large districts to purchase more school buses and hire additional bus drivers.
鈥淭hat money begins to add up to potentially easily $100 (million), $200 million dollars,鈥� Antone said.
Chris Doolin, a lobbyist who represents the Small School District Council Consortium, also raised concerns about the bill鈥檚 potential impacts on small districts. As an example, Doolin argued that shifting the order of different grade levels鈥� start times could pose safety concerns.
鈥淩ight off the bat, you鈥檙e going to have elementary and younger kids at the side of the road at bus stops earlier, and there鈥檚 a safety concern there,鈥� Doolin told the News Service.
Another sticking point about the bill, for Doolin, is its potential effect on families鈥� work schedules.
People in rural Holmes County, for example, largely are employed by state prisons, the county or the school district, according to Doolin. He pointed to rural Holmes County.
鈥淵ou've got the prison system, you鈥檝e got the county workforce and you鈥檝e got the school workforce. Now, all those work schedules, I would say the majority, start at 8 o鈥檆lock (a.m.),鈥� Doolin said.
Doolin also raised questions about how the changes would affect extracurricular activities such as sports, particularly in rural communities where, 鈥渃ounty to county,鈥� it would 鈥渢ake time to get kids to where they need to be.鈥�
And Antone and Doolin both noted that some high-school students have after-school jobs.
At least two large districts already have studied the issue of changing start times.
In 2019, Orange County鈥檚 district sought community input on potential plans to change start-times. The district, which begins the day at 7:20 a.m for high schools and at 9:30 a.m. for middle schools, presented three plans for alternate start times.
The district received tens of thousands of responses, the bulk of which came from parents and guardians. Of the options presented to respondents, only one would have complied with the new law. 鈥淢odel D,鈥� as it was called, proposed starting high schools鈥� days at 8:45 a.m. and middle schools at 10:15 a.m.
Survey results showed that 67 percent of respondents opposed the plan, according to a district spokesman.
Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, voted for the bill but pointed out that his home school district in Duval County also previously declined to change its start times.
鈥淒uval County had looked at doing this a few years back, and then opted not to change some of the start times. There鈥檚 a big impact on transportation, obviously on families if they have multiple siblings especially in different grade levels,鈥� Yarborough said during the May 4 floor debate.
The bill also requires school districts to inform local communities 鈥渁bout the health, safety, and academic impacts of sleep deprivation on middle school and high school students and the benefits of a later school start time and discuss local strategies鈥� to implement the new start-times.
Sen. Tracie Davis, a Jacksonville Democrat, said she appreciated the three-year period for implementation, but added that her reservation about the bill centered on not taking community input prior to putting the changes in place.
鈥淚 appreciate the fact that you have given a three-year period for school districts to talk about it with all of those stakeholders. The challenge I have for that is, I wish we would do that first before we actually made it a bill that we鈥檙e voting on to put it in law,鈥� Davis said.
Burgess acknowledged his colleagues鈥� concerns, saying 鈥渃hange can be hard.鈥� But he said his service in the U.S. Army Reserves influenced his approach to the legislation.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 put out our command intent, and say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e getting to yes,鈥� and we鈥檙e doing it by this date, then these things never come to fruition,鈥� Burgess said. 鈥淪o what we鈥檝e done here is laid out the command intent. And we鈥檙e giving a three-year glide path to get to yes.鈥�
The reporting requirements over the next three years will 鈥渆nsure that we're uncovering any potential landmines, pitfalls, or holes that we need to look to plug,鈥� he said.
