Florida Senate - 2025                                     SB 296
       
       
        
       By Senator Bradley
       
       
       
       
       
       6-00925-25                                             2025296__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to middle school and high school start
    3         times; amending s. 1001.42, F.S.; deleting the duty of
    4         district school boards to adopt policies for middle
    5         school and high school start times; deleting a
    6         requirement that instructional days for middle schools
    7         and high schools begin no earlier than specified
    8         times; deleting a requirement that district school
    9         boards inform the community of specified impacts of
   10         sleep deprivation on students and the benefits of
   11         later school start times and discuss related
   12         strategies; amending s. 1002.33, F.S.; deleting a
   13         requirement that certain charter schools comply with
   14         middle school and high school start times; providing
   15         an effective date.
   16          
   17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   18  
   19         Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of section
   20  1001.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   21         1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board.—The
   22  district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all
   23  powers and perform all duties listed below:
   24         (4) ESTABLISHMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND OPERATION OF SCHOOLS.
   25  Adopt and provide for the execution of plans for the
   26  establishment, organization, and operation of the schools of the
   27  district, including, but not limited to, the following:
   28         (f) Opening and closing of schools; fixing uniform date;
   29  middle school and high school start times.—Adopt policies for
   30  the opening and closing of schools and, fix uniform dates, and
   31  middle school and high school start times.
   32         1. The opening date for schools in the district may not be
   33  earlier than August 10 of each year.
   34         2. By July 1, 2026, the instructional day for middle
   35  schools may not begin earlier than 8 a.m. and the instructional
   36  day for high schools may not begin earlier than 8:30 a.m. Each
   37  district school board must inform its community, including
   38  parents, students, teachers, school administrators, athletic
   39  coaches, and other stakeholders, about the health, safety, and
   40  academic impacts of sleep deprivation on middle school and high
   41  school students and the benefits of a later school start time
   42  and discuss local strategies to successfully implement the later
   43  school start times.
   44         Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section
   45  1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   46         1002.33 Charter schools.—
   47         (16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES.—
   48         (b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance
   49  with the following statutes:
   50         1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and
   51  records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties.
   52         2. Chapter 119, relating to public records.
   53         3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size,
   54  except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s.
   55  1003.03 shall be the average at the school level.
   56         4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and
   57  salary schedules.
   58         5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions.
   59         6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with
   60  instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011.
   61         7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive
   62  requirements for performance evaluations for instructional
   63  personnel and school administrators.
   64         8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe-school officers.
   65         9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management teams.
   66         10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental
   67  Safety Incident Reporting.
   68         11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of
   69  involuntary examinations.
   70         12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe Schools
   71  Assessment Tool.
   72         13. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting an active
   73  assailant response plan.
   74         14. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile
   75  suspicious activity reporting tool.
   76         15. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health
   77  awareness and assistance training.
   78         16. Section 1001.42(4)(f)2., relating to middle school and
   79  high school start times. A charter school-in-the-workplace is
   80  exempt from this requirement.
   81         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.