Florida Senate - 2025 CS for CS for SB 296
By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; and Education Pre-K - 12;
and Senators Bradley, Yarborough, and Davis
594-02640-25 2025296c2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to middle school and high school start
3 times; amending ss. 1001.42 and 1002.33, F.S.;
4 providing that district school boards and charter
5 schools, respectively, are in compliance with certain
6 provisions relating to middle school and high school
7 start times upon submission of a specified report to
8 the Department of Education; providing an effective
9 date.
10
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
12
13 Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of section
14 1001.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
15 1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board.—The
16 district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all
17 powers and perform all duties listed below:
18 (4) ESTABLISHMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND OPERATION OF SCHOOLS.
19 Adopt and provide for the execution of plans for the
20 establishment, organization, and operation of the schools of the
21 district, including, but not limited to, the following:
22 (f) Opening and closing of schools; fixing uniform date;
23 middle school and high school start times.—Adopt policies for
24 the opening and closing of schools, fix uniform dates, and
25 middle school and high school start times.
26 1. The opening date for schools in the district may not be
27 earlier than August 10 of each year.
28 2. By July 1, 2026, the instructional day for middle
29 schools may not begin earlier than 8 a.m. and the instructional
30 day for high schools may not begin earlier than 8:30 a.m. Each
31 district school board must inform its community, including
32 parents, students, teachers, school administrators, athletic
33 coaches, and other stakeholders, about the health, safety, and
34 academic impacts of sleep deprivation on middle school and high
35 school students and the benefits of a later school start time
36 and discuss local strategies to successfully implement the later
37 school start times.
38 3. A district school board shall be deemed in compliance
39 with the requirements of subparagraph 2. if the district school
40 board submits to the department, by June 1, 2026, a report, in a
41 format prescribed by the department, that includes, at a
42 minimum, all of the following:
43 a. The start times of elementary, middle, and high schools
44 in the school district.
45 b. Documentation of strategies considered to implement a
46 later school start time for middle schools and high schools
47 within the school district, including the number of board
48 meetings, public hearings, and opportunities for parent input to
49 discuss the strategies.
50 c. A description of the impact of implementing the school
51 start time requirements in subparagraph 2., including the
52 financial impact for the school district.
53 d. Identified unintended consequences to the school
54 district, students, and the community by implementing the school
55 start time requirements in subparagraph 2.
56 Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section
57 1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
58 1002.33 Charter schools.—
59 (16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES.—
60 (b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance
61 with the following statutes:
62 1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and
63 records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties.
64 2. Chapter 119, relating to public records.
65 3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size,
66 except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s.
67 1003.03 shall be the average at the school level.
68 4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensation and
69 salary schedules.
70 5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions.
71 6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with
72 instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011.
73 7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive
74 requirements for performance evaluations for instructional
75 personnel and school administrators.
76 8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe-school officers.
77 9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management teams.
78 10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmental
79 Safety Incident Reporting.
80 11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of
81 involuntary examinations.
82 12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe Schools
83 Assessment Tool.
84 13. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting an active
85 assailant response plan.
86 14. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile
87 suspicious activity reporting tool.
88 15. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health
89 awareness and assistance training.
90 16. Section 1001.42(4)(f)2., relating to middle school and
91 high school start times, unless the governing board has
92 submitted a report to the department pursuant to s.
93 1001.42(4)(f)3. A charter school-in-the-workplace is exempt from
94 this requirement.
95 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.