Can middle and high schools in Florida start later?

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida. A new proposal from the Florida Legislature will change class start times for thousands of students across the state.

HB 733officially titled “Middle and High School Start Times,” just approved by a House committee to require middle and high school to start no earlier than 8:00 and 8:30 a.m., respectively, to help teens get more sleep.

If the bill passes, it will have a big impact on high school students across the borough, most of whom currently start school at around 7:30 am.

Read the entire bill here:

SPECIAL COATING: Education

“Being able to spend 8:30 a.m. with your two daughters really makes you realize how important that extra hour is for these teens,” said Palm Beach County mother Stacey Brookman.

Brookman credits her daughter for attending Boca Raton High School, one of Palm Beach County’s few high schools that starts later.

“That 8:30 start time really makes a difference between her and her friends outside of Boca Hai,” Bruckman said.

A bill passing through the Florida Legislature would require public high schools to open no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:00 a.m.

Some lawmakers are worried about the impact on working parents and transportation. The change will most likely result in a shuffling of start times in the school district.

Right now, most Palm Beach County high schools open at approximately 7:30 AM. Lucie County High Schools also start at approximately 7:30 AM.

Indian River and Okeechobee counties start even earlier, around 7am.

Only Martin County starts high school later at 8:20.

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“There is a direct link between the anxiety and depression that we see in teenagers, as well as sleep deprivation, and a lot of it has to do with it,” says pediatrician Dr. Shannon Fox-Levin of Palm Beach Pediatrics. .

Fox-Levine said doctors have been fighting for years to start school later.

“It’s so important for them to get those eight to ten hours for their social, emotional and physical development,” Fox-Levin said. “And if they don’t get it, we can see those consequences day in and day out.”

“It is my understanding that class start times have been skewed due to transportation needs,” said Sarah Green, a Palm Beach County High School parent. “We just don’t have enough buses to transport all these students at the same time.”

Green understands why school starts exactly when it does, but would like a change.

“I think the health and well-being of these kids comes first,” Greene said. “And many extracurricular activities, as well as a load of homework, require these students to get up after midnight to complete assignments and requirements. And then they get up at 5:30 or 6 in the morning to get to school.”

Only time will tell if the bill passes.

“While I usually disagree with everything our legislature does — especially right now with our public schools — I’m really happy to see that this is being considered,” Brookman said.

If the bill is passed, it will only come into force in 2026.