Start times still vex Florida schools. They have until 2026 to get it right

By Jeffrey S. Solochek Times staff

The time is drawing nearer for Florida school districts to make sure their high school student aren’t taking classes before 8:30 a.m. In most counties, they’ve been starting their days around 7:30 a.m., some earlier.

Lawmakers gave districts until fall 2026 to shift their schedules. But officials in many districts, particularly the larger ones, have grappled with ways to balance their bell times with their bus routes, to avoid having to add more buses to the roads at a time when finding drivers is hard enough.

The Palm Beach County school district has proposed three possibilities for its board to sort through. One idea is simply to push all school start times to after 8 a.m. That, of course, pushes all ending times later, too, which causes its own set of concerns for families.