CS/HB 261 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to middle school and high school start 2
times; amending ss. 1001.42 and 1002.33, F.S.; 3
providing that district school boards and charter 4
schools are in compliance with certain provisions 5
relating to middle school and high school start times 6
upon submission of a specified report to the 7
Department of Education by a specified date; providing 8
an effective date. 9
10
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11
12
Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subsection (4) of section 13
1001.42, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 14
1001.42 Powers and duties of district school board. —The 15
district school board, acting as a board, shall exercise all 16
powers and perform all duties listed below: 17
(4) ESTABLISHMENT, ORGANIZATION, AND OPERATION OF 18
SCHOOLS.—Adopt and provide for the execution of plans for the 19
establishment, organization, and operation of the schools of the 20
district, including, but not limited to, t he following: 21
(f) Opening and closing of schools; fixing uniform date; 22
middle school and high school start times. —Adopt policies for 23
the opening and closing of schools, fix uniform dates, and 24
middle school and high school start times. 25
CS/HB 261 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1. The opening date for schools in the district may not be 26
earlier than August 10 of each year. 27
2. By July 1, 2026, the instructional day for middle 28
schools may not begin earlier than 8 a.m. and the instructional 29
day for high schools may not begin earlier than 8:30 a.m. Each 30
district school board must inform its community, including 31
parents, students, teachers, school administrators, athletic 32
coaches, and other stakeholders, about the health, safety, and 33
academic impacts of sleep deprivation on middle school and high 34
school students and the benefits of a later school start time 35
and discuss local strategies to successfully implement the later 36
school start times. 37
3. A district school board shall be deemed in compliance 38
with the requirements of subparagraph 2. if the distr ict school 39
board submits to the department, by June 1, 2026, a report, in a 40
format prescribed by the department, that includes at a minimum 41
all of the following: 42
a. The start times of elementary schools, middle schools, 43
and high schools in the school dis trict. 44
b. Documentation of strategies the school district 45
considered to implement a later school start time for middle 46
schools and high schools within the school district, including 47
the number of board meetings and public hearings held to discuss 48
the strategies and any parent input the school district 49
received. 50
CS/HB 261 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
c. A description of the impact of implementing the school 51
start time requirements in subparagraph 2., including the 52
financial impact to the school district. 53
d. Any identified unintended consequ ences to the school 54
district, students, and the community from implementing the 55
school start time requirements in subparagraph 2. 56
Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (16) of section 57
1002.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 58
1002.33 Charter schools.— 59
(16) EXEMPTION FROM STATUTES. — 60
(b) Additionally, a charter school shall be in compliance 61
with the following statutes: 62
1. Section 286.011, relating to public meetings and 63
records, public inspection, and criminal and civil penalties. 64
2. Chapter 119, relating to public records. 65
3. Section 1003.03, relating to the maximum class size, 66
except that the calculation for compliance pursuant to s. 67
1003.03 shall be the average at the school level. 68
4. Section 1012.22(1)(c), relating to compensat ion and 69
salary schedules. 70
5. Section 1012.33(5), relating to workforce reductions. 71
6. Section 1012.335, relating to contracts with 72
instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011. 73
7. Section 1012.34, relating to the substantive 74
requirements for performance evaluations for instructional 75
CS/HB 261 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
personnel and school administrators. 76
8. Section 1006.12, relating to safe -school officers. 77
9. Section 1006.07(7), relating to threat management 78
teams. 79
10. Section 1006.07(9), relating to School Environmenta l 80
Safety Incident Reporting. 81
11. Section 1006.07(10), relating to reporting of 82
involuntary examinations. 83
12. Section 1006.1493, relating to the Florida Safe 84
Schools Assessment Tool. 85
13. Section 1006.07(6)(d), relating to adopting an active 86
assailant response plan. 87
14. Section 943.082(4)(b), relating to the mobile 88
suspicious activity reporting tool. 89
15. Section 1012.584, relating to youth mental health 90
awareness and assistance training. 91
16. Section 1001.42(4)(f)2., relating to middle school and 92
high school start times unless the governing board has submitted 93
a report to the department pursuant to s. 1001.42(4)(f)3 . A 94
charter school-in-the-workplace is exempt from this requirement. 95
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 96