TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida lawmakers Wednesday hit snooze on a repeal of later school start times for middle and high schools, revising the House and Senate versions of the bill to keep the new times but adding exemptions for schools that aren’t yet able to comply.
Lawmakers in 2023 passed a law that would require middle schools to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.
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The bill was backed by research showing older students weren’t getting enough sleep.
Those new school start times were supposed to begin in 2026.
But lawmakers said many school districts found adapting to the new times would be challenging, logistically and financially, so bills were filed to repeal the 2023 law.
“Larger districts, and even some rural districts have been unable to comply due to local circumstances,” said State Rep. Anne Gerwig, R-Wellington, the sponsor of the bill.
Now instead of a full repeal, HB 261 was amended to give school districts the ability to be in compliance, as long as they submit a report to the state by June 1, 2026.
The report has to include:
- Start times for elementary, middle, and high schools in the district
- Documentation of strategies considered to implement the later start times
- Explaining the impact of implementing the later start times, including the financial impact
- Identifying any unintended consequences
“Most high school teachers will tell you that first period tends to be a struggle because many of our students keep falling asleep in class. This bill represents a sensible compromise," Patrick Lewicki, an economics teacher at Hillsborough High School in Tampa, told the committee.
Chris Doolin with the Small School District Council Consortium told the committee that 12 of the districts he represents have been able to implement the new start times, but 24 have not.
“It’s a very important bill because it identifies a glide path that allows the districts to go in and look at what they need to do to do this. This requires the school board to continue to do the healthy sleep deprivation educational programs,” Doolin said.
HB 261 passed the Education Administration Subcommittee on Wednesday.
In the Florida Senate, the companion bill, SB 296, is now on its last committee stop before going to the Senate floor for a full vote.
On Wednesday, the Senate sponsor, Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, filed the same amendment to SB 296.
That bill goes before the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Thursday.
