Florida legislature moving to repeal 2023 law banning early school start times
By Danielle Prieur
March 11, 2025 at 3:19 PM EDT
A bill that would repeal restrictions on middle and high school start times in Central Florida schools has moved through its second committee in the Florida Senate, making it one step closer to a full vote in the Florida Senate.
If passed, the bill would repeal a 2023 law that bans high schools from starting earlier than 8:30 a.m. and middle schools from starting earlier than 8 a.m. These restrictions were meant to take effect by 2026.
But after hearing from dozens of parents and school districts throughout Florida about the scheduling difficulties of changing these start times, the Florida legislature is now considering repealing that law.
The bill that would do just that received overwhelming support in its second Florida Senate committee. It only needs one more committee to approve it before a vote of the full Florida Senate.
Democratic State Senator Rosalind Osgood represents South Florida and said she’s heard from district officials who say changing school start times would require more school bus drivers when many districts don’t have enough bus drivers already.
“And it is an arduous task when you change school times, especially for our bus drivers who do not work a straight shift. Many of them work split shifts and then they work other jobs at night, because we still struggle to pay them what they deserve for the job that they do,” said Osgood.
Changing school start times is also harder on parents who need to get to work or drop off other younger children later in the day.
“As a single parent with kids in school, when you can get your kids to school and either go right to work or go back home and have an hour alone, it's really helpful,” said Osgood.
Republican State Senator Corey Simon represents North Florida. He agrees with Osgood. He said as someone who represents rural school districts in the state, it’s crucial that middle and high school start times remain early in the day. Kids in his districts need to be able to work jobs that start in the early afternoon.
“My rural communities, they have talked about school start times. And just the strain that it's been, and the angst that it’s created with my rural communities,” said Simon.
He also noted concerns over bus drivers and the shortages his districts face. Furthermore, he said as a dad, pushing school start times later in the day may not equate to kids getting more sleep.
“I will just tell you, because I've got a 22 year old, and we dealt with this throughout his high school years. If you extend when school starts, he's going to try to extend how late he stays up. That's just how kids operate,” said Simon.
Democratic State Senator Jason Pizzo who represents South Florida is against early school start times, but still voted for the bill. He pointed to research that finds benefits of later school start times.
“It's just healthier to let your kids sleep a little bit more. It just is. The efficacy is pretty obvious,” said Pizzo.
Pizzo said he can speak from his own experience too, as growing up in New Jersey his middle school implemented later school start times.
“And it had a remarkable difference in our college matriculation, graduation rates. I'm just saying it worked very well,” said Pizzo.
Research conducted by the National Institutes of Health on later school start times points to several benefits including reduced sleep deprivation, improved attendance and student performance, and fewer car accidents involving students.
The American Psychological Association also supports these findings around the benefits of later school start times.
Read the full bill here:
If passed, the bill would repeal a 2023 law that bans high schools from starting earlier than 8:30 a.m. and middle schools from starting earlier than 8 a.m. These restrictions were meant to take effect by 2026.
But after hearing from dozens of parents and school districts throughout Florida about the scheduling difficulties of changing these start times, the Florida legislature is now considering repealing that law.
The bill that would do just that received overwhelming support in its second Florida Senate committee. It only needs one more committee to approve it before a vote of the full Florida Senate.
Democratic State Senator Rosalind Osgood represents South Florida and said she’s heard from district officials who say changing school start times would require more school bus drivers when many districts don’t have enough bus drivers already.
“And it is an arduous task when you change school times, especially for our bus drivers who do not work a straight shift. Many of them work split shifts and then they work other jobs at night, because we still struggle to pay them what they deserve for the job that they do,” said Osgood.
Changing school start times is also harder on parents who need to get to work or drop off other younger children later in the day.
“As a single parent with kids in school, when you can get your kids to school and either go right to work or go back home and have an hour alone, it's really helpful,” said Osgood.
Republican State Senator Corey Simon represents North Florida. He agrees with Osgood. He said as someone who represents rural school districts in the state, it’s crucial that middle and high school start times remain early in the day. Kids in his districts need to be able to work jobs that start in the early afternoon.
“My rural communities, they have talked about school start times. And just the strain that it's been, and the angst that it’s created with my rural communities,” said Simon.
He also noted concerns over bus drivers and the shortages his districts face. Furthermore, he said as a dad, pushing school start times later in the day may not equate to kids getting more sleep.
“I will just tell you, because I've got a 22 year old, and we dealt with this throughout his high school years. If you extend when school starts, he's going to try to extend how late he stays up. That's just how kids operate,” said Simon.
Democratic State Senator Jason Pizzo who represents South Florida is against early school start times, but still voted for the bill. He pointed to research that finds benefits of later school start times.
“It's just healthier to let your kids sleep a little bit more. It just is. The efficacy is pretty obvious,” said Pizzo.
Pizzo said he can speak from his own experience too, as growing up in New Jersey his middle school implemented later school start times.
“And it had a remarkable difference in our college matriculation, graduation rates. I'm just saying it worked very well,” said Pizzo.
Research conducted by the National Institutes of Health on later school start times points to several benefits including reduced sleep deprivation, improved attendance and student performance, and fewer car accidents involving students.
The American Psychological Association also supports these findings around the benefits of later school start times.
Read the full bill here: