Florida House Bill 733: New School Start and End Times Beginning in August 2026

A new law requires middle schools to begin no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and high schools to begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

A new state law, House Bill 733 (2023), requires that all middle schools begin no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and all high schools begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. These new start times will also impact elementary schools. The changes will take effect in the 2026-2027 school year, starting August 2026.

Click here for school hours for the 2024-2025 academic year.

According to the law, sleep deprivation has health, safety, and academic impacts on middle and high school students, and there are benefits associated with a later school start time.

Click here for the House of Representatives Staff Final Bill Analysis. It includes the research used to support the legislation.

HB 733 Future New Start Times for Schools - School Board Presentation June 5, 2024
Watch the School Board Presentation here.

Proposed Options for New Start Times Community Meetings Presentation

Timeline

Date	Action
September 2023	Created New Start Times Workgroup consisting of representatives from District departments and school administrators
December 2023	Launched New Start Times Workgroup meetings
January 2024	Developed subcommittees: Research, Communications, School Based Scheduling, Before and Afterschool Activities, Routing, Choice Transportation, Courtesy Riders, and ESE/McKinney-Vento
February - March 2024	Individual subcommittees met to discuss the impacts
April 2024	Presented New School Start and End Times options to District Leadership and school principals
May 2024	Presented to the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Committee and external stakeholders (School Traffic Task Force and CTA)
June 5, 2024	Presented New School Start and End Times options to School Board
September - November 2024	Survey on New School Start and End Times open for stakeholder feedback
September - October 2024	Regional Community Meetings held
November 6, 2024	School Board Legislative Priorities Workshop
January - March 2025	Evaluate and incorporate community input
January 29, 2025	Joint School Board and Legislative Delegation Workshop
March 4 - May 2, 2025	2025 Florida Legislative Session
May 2025	Board approval of selected option (if the law has not changed)
June 2025 - August 2026	Prepare for changes and communicate to stakeholders
August 2026	Implement new start times

Survey on School Start and End Times

This survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and will provide the School District of Palm Beach County with valuable feedback as our community comes together to address a significant change in our lives. The survey will close at midnight on November 18, 2024.

Click here to take the survey.

Middle schools already start after 8:00 a.m. Why do elementary school times have to change if only high school times have to change?

Why can’t elementary school start at 8:00 a.m., high school at 8:30 a.m., and middle school at 9:30 a.m.?

The most efficient way to schedule school buses is to have them sequentially cover all three grade configurations, including elementary, middle and high school. To do otherwise would require significantly more buses and bus drivers. The schedule proposed and several similar options which have been considered, would create a conflict between drop-off and pick-up times. On average, each elementary school bus route takes 45 minutes, 70 minutes for middle school, and 65 minutes for high school. Students also need to be dropped off at least 15-20 minutes before the first bell to have time to eat free breakfast at school.
For elementary school to start at 8:00 a.m., students must be dropped off by 7:40 a.m.
For high school to start at 8:30 a.m., the bus routes must begin by 6:55 a.m. However, drivers will typically still be on their elementary school routes until 7:40 a.m.
At the end of the school day, middle school students must be picked up at 4:05 p.m. However, drivers typically do not complete their high school routes until 4:35 p.m.
To resolve these conflicts, the elementary schools would need to start earlier, and the middle schools would need to end later. This aligns with Option 1, which is:
- Elementary schools: 7:30 a.m. - 1:35 p.m.
- High schools: 8:45 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
- Middle schools: 10:45 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.

The School District offers before and after-school care at most elementary schools and some middle schools. Some schools have waiting lists due to a need for more staff. We realize that changing the school start and end times will result in a need for additional before and after-school care, which has been identified as one of the significant impacts of this legislation.