Florida Senate approves later school start times

CBS Miami | By CBS Miami Team | May 4, 2023

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Senate on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would lead to many high-school students seeing later school start times in the future. 

The Senate voted 38-2 to pass the bill (HB 733), which was approved March 31 by the House. Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, and Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Windermere, cast the dissenting votes Thursday. 

The bill would prevent middle schools from beginning the “instructional day” earlier than 8 a.m., while high schools would be barred from starting the school day before 8:30 a.m. 

The changes would have to go into effect by July 2026. About 48 percent of Florida’s public high schools start school before 7:30 a.m., according to the Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. 

Another 19 percent of high schools start between 7:30 a.m. and 7:59 a.m.

Some senators Thursday raised questions about how the changes would affect issues such as student transportation and after-school jobs. But supporters have pointed to studies that say later start times would benefit high-school students. 

“What we’re doing now (with earlier start times) is not what’s best for our kids, for the adolescents especially,” Senate sponsor Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, said. 

“It’s the ‘how’ that can be the hard challenge and the logistics of that and how we make this happen.” Burgess said the bill would give a three-year “glide path” to address concerns before the requirements would take effect. The measure is ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis.