The Okaloosa County School District is already making plans to comply with a new state law that will push back start times for middle and high schools in 2026, Superintendent Marcus Chambers told the school board Monday.
The law, passed by the Florida Legislature last year, requires high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and middle schools no earlier than 8am beginning in August 2026.
- School districts must inform parents, students, teachers and other stakeholders about the “health and safety impacts of sleep deprivation” and benefits of later start times, according to the legislation.
The change could mean earlier start times for elementary students, who are not addressed in the new law.
- “The last thing we want to do is have our elementary kids sitting at bus stops really early in the morning,” Chambers said. “That’s not to say that some of that doesn’t occur right now based on buses and schedules.”
To prepare, district staff already held meetings as early as December, and will run bus route simulations in summer 2025, Chambers said.
As with many school districts in the state, Okaloosa County is already facing a shortage of school bus drivers, Chambers said. Staying with the current three-tiered bus system, which allows drivers to cover multiple routes with staggered school start times, could mean some schools start even later than they do now.
Transitioning to a two-tiered system would require hiring drivers to fill current vacancies as well as additional drivers and buses.
- “If we could get to a two tiered bus system, that means we would not only hire the bus drivers that were currently vacant, but then we’d have to hire even more, [and] likely purchase additional buses,” he said. “Going into a two-tiered bus system would probably be difficult.”
The district is weighing the challenges of both options while developing its plan to comply with the new start time requirements.
School Board member Tim Bryant said he worries about the impact on younger students.
- “I appreciate our lawmakers trying to put our secondary students in the forefront, helping them with their abilities to get enough sleep and be productive and all, it does put a burden on the younger ones who I think are more vulnerable than our older ones,” Bryant said.
Chambers said the district will communicate with families as planning progresses over the next two years. Florida designated a few small districts to pilot the new start times before 2026, which could prompt changes to the law if problems arise, Bryant noted.
