Q&A of the Day – Palm Beach County’s Proposed School Start Times
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
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Today’s Entry: Are these rules for private schools as well?
Bottom Line: Today’s question comes in response to this week’s news that the Palm Beach County School District is currently considering three different plans that are set to significantly alter the school start times for potentially schools at all grade levels. In this week’s meeting the District’s Chief Operating Officer presented the three potential schedules which vary significantly with potential school start times, based upon grade level, that could change by up to two hours and twenty minutes. The proposed plans are aimed at the district complying with a law passed in last year’s state legislative session. Under the new law, by July 1st of 2026, middle schools may not start earlier than 8 a.m. while high school may not start prior to 8:30 a.m. This is a big change for the school district as most of the district’s high schools currently start at 7:30. In order to adjust for the later start times for high schools, the school district needs to adjust the start times for schools at all grade levels in order to stagger bus schedules to provide drivers with enough time to complete their routes.
The three proposed schedules under consideration by the school district are these:
Option 1:
- Elementary school day: 7:30 a.m. to 1:35 p.m.
- High school day: 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
- Middle school day: 10:15 a.m. to 4:50 p.m.
Option 2:
- Middle school day: 8 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.
- High school day: 9:15 a.m. to 4:35 p.m.
- Elementary school day: 9:45 a.m. to 3:50 p.m.
Option 3:
- High school day: 8:30 a.m. to 3:50 p.m.
- Elementary school day: 9 a.m. to 3:05 p.m.
- Middle school day: 10:20 a.m. to 4:55 p.m.
The Palm Beach County School District intends to settle on one of those plans by May of next year...and that takes us to today’s question. Do the state mandated school start times apply to private schools? The answer is no.
Under the state’s summary analysis for the law, it states as follows:
- To allow middle and high school students in Florida to achieve optimal levels of sleep, to improve their physical and mental health, safety, academic performance, and quality of life, the bill requires that no later than July 1, 2026, the instructional day for all public and charter middle schools must begin no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and no earlier than 8:30 a.m. for high schools. A charter school-in-the-workplace is exempt from this requirement.
As noted, it applies only to all public schools with the charter school-in-the-workplace exemption as well. Now, with that being said, it’s possible that some private schools will consider adjusting their schedules to reflect what the school district settles on. Historically, there are private schools that have chosen congruent schedules with the school district. Aside from continuity, private schools may consider the reason why the new law was put into effect.
Florida’s law is based on the current recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics. As noted by the state with the law’s analysis:
- In a 2014 policy statement on school start times for adolescents, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) referenced two researched biological factors that make it easier for adolescents to stay awake later. The first biological factor is the delayed timing of nocturnal melatonin secretion released throughout adolescence, which corresponds to a shift in circadian phase preference from more “morning” to more “evening” type. The second biological factor is an altered sleep drive during adolescence in which the pressure to fall asleep accumulates more slowly. This research indicates that the average teenager in today’s society has difficulty falling asleep before 11:00 p.m. and is best suited to wake at 8:00 a.m. or later. The AAP also recognizes that insufficient sleep in adolescents is an important public health issue which affects the health, safety, and academic success of middle and high school students. According to the AAP, a key modifiable contributor to insufficient sleep in adolescents is early school start times.
So, in other words, when we were in school, and we had a hard time going to sleep early enough to get enough sleep for the next school day – it wasn’t entirely our fault. As it pertains to Florida’s new law, the state is following the best available science for our children. On that note the state of Florida was recognized by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Sleep Foundation for implementing best practices with the passage of the law. It’s a compelling reason for schools regardless of what’s mandated to consider start times accordingly.