NBC 6- Legislation that would lead to many Florida high-school students seeing later school start times in the future has been signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The Florida Senate approved the bill during the final week of the recent legislative session, while the House passed the measure in March.
The bill would prevent middle schools from beginning the instructional day earlier than 8 a.m., while high schools would be barred from starting the school day before 8:30 a.m.
About 48% of Florida’s public high schools currently start school before 7:30 a.m.
Another 19% of high schools start between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Republican State Sen. Danny Burgess, the bill’s sponsor, pointed to studies that say later start times will benefit high-school students.
“Medical science has shown that this is what’s best. What we are doing now is not what’s best for our kids, for the adolescents especially,” Burgess said.
“When you balance out the needs of the students, their physical needs, their emotional needs, but also their health needs, there have been numerous studies brought forth about children needing to sleep,” said State Sen. Rosalind Osgood, a Democrat from Tamarac.
The changes will go into effect by July 2026.
