JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County Public Schools is asking for parents to weigh in on four possible school start time changes that are designed to comply with a state mandate pushing back middle and high school start times.
At the same time, there’s a push in the legislature to repeal the mandate altogether.
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The law was passed in 2023 and requires middle schools to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. by the 2026-27 school year.
Some scenarios proposed by DCPS to comply with the law would see certain students starting school as late as 11:45 a.m. and getting out as late as 6:30 p.m.
“The superintendent and his cabinet have been working really hard to come up with viable strategies,” said School Board Member Melody Bolduc (District 7).
READ: Duval County Public Schools need feedback on school start times law
Bolduc argued the state mandate poses a laundry list of challenges for Duval, due to magnet schools and the transition times needed between various types of grade schools.
“We have parents who have to be at work at a certain time. We have the darkness in the morning, worried about getting our elementary school students there so early,” said Bolduc.
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The original legislation aimed to help improve grades among older students by allowing them to sleep in later, but due to the challenges now facing districts, lawmakers are proposing a full repeal of the mandate.
“To me, this is really a home rule issue,” said State Representative Anne Gerwig.
Gerwig is sponsoring the repealer bill in the Florida House.
She argued school start times should be decided by individual districts, not the state.
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“I understand children are maybe going to do better if you test them later in the day, but they would also do better if they went to bed earlier at night,” said Gerwig.
Bolduc said DCPS is backing the effort to repeal the mandate, and she’s optimistic it will clear the finish line this session.
“I believe that we’re going to have a good outcome here,” said Bolduc.
Local State Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) is sponsoring the start time repealer bill in the Senate.
READ: Local lawmaker involved in school start time debate
Session kicks off on Mar. 4.
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