Not All Florida Students Want School Start Times Pushed Back
Starting in the 2026 school year, many Florida students will get a little extra sleep thanks to a law passed in 2023 that pushes back school start times. The bill requires district school boards to adopt new middle and high school start times beginning with the 2026-2027 school year. By July 1, 2026, middle schools may not begin the instructional day prior to 8:00 a.m., and high schools may not begin prior to 8:30 a.m.
Current School Start Times
For some classes, this will be only a minor change, but others will be significantly impacted. Many Collier County high schools start as early at 7:10 am. Lee County high schools start at 7:05 am. When they passed the law, Florida lawmakers said they believed that the later school start times would help students get more sleep, which can result in better physical and mental health. But what do the students think?
![Brayden Lurie, who is not a fan of the 2026 school start times](https://espnswfl.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/60/2024/08/rsz_74424545010__02249f7d-ceaf-43de-a854-bed554a9ec18_1722886688_.jpg?w=756)
Current high school junior, Brayden Lurie says he’d rather start early than get out later, especially with after school sports. Our Southwest Florida climate also creates challenges with the high heat and frequent afternoon storms. All of which can affect extra curricular activities.
The Later Start
Other states, such as Wyoming, Rhode Island, Kentucky, Connecticut, Colorado, etc., have already made this switch, and Florida is about to do the same. Brayden, who isn’t a fan of the switch, will not have to deal with it since it will begin the year after he graduates. But is this really what’s best for Florida students?
The American Psychological Association has been advocating for later school start times for years, citing research that shows earlier bell times lead to a big discrepancy between the amount of sleep teens get and the amount they need.
The association says that adolescents should optimally be getting a little more than nine hours of sleep per night. Yet, a 2014 study from the National Sleep Foundation showed that only 10% of students between the ages of 15 and 17 were getting that much sleep. Will a later start time get the kids more sleep, or simply encourage them to stay up even later?
The Parents
Another factor is the parents. Although middle and elementary schools are not greatly affected by this change, some Southwest Florida high schools will be starting nearly 90 minutes earlier. Dropping your kid off at school before work becomes a different task, at least until they’re old enough to drive. Another is the busses. Finding enough people to drive school busses is already difficult enough, will this make it easier to staff, or more difficult? That’s up to school administrators to figure out. Which they have 2 years to do.