School Days Could Start Later For FL Students Under Proposed Bill

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Some Florida middle and high school students would be required to start school later in the day under a new bill working its way through the state legislature.

House Bill 733, introduced by Reps. John Temple, Mike Beltran and Ralph Massullo would move the beginning and end of the school day for middle and high school students. According to the bill's text, the instructional day for middle schools would not begin earlier than 8 a.m., while high schools would not start earlier than 8:30 a.m.

According to the bill, school districts must inform students, staff and parents about the "academic impacts of sleep deprivation on middle school and high school students and the benefits of a later school start time."

If passed, the law would go into effect on July 1, 2026. It would apply to public and charter schools, according to the bill's text.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the optimal level of sleep for middle and high school students s 8.5 to 9.5 hours. Getting that much sleep improves physical and mental health, academic performance and quality of life, according to the organization's research.

"The evidence strongly implicates earlier school start times (i.e., before 8:30 a.m.) as a key modifiable contributor to insufficient sleep, as well as circadian rhythm disruption, in this population," the research reads.

In Florida, 76 percent of high schools and 16 percent of middle schools start instruction before 8:30 a.m., according to Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability data cited by WFLA.

Almost 50 percent of the state's high schools start before 7:30 a.m., the Tallahassee Democrat reported.