Florida House bill proposes later start times for middle and high school students

Florida middle and high school students soon might get more sleep each morning if a state lawmaker gets his way.

State Rep. John Paul Temple, a Wildwood Republican who heads the Sumter County school district’s professional learning department, filed a bill Friday that would require later start times for most middle and high schools in the state.

House Bill 733 would mandate that middle schools begin classes no earlier than 8 a.m., and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. It would be effective in July 2026, to give schools and families time to prepare.

Temple filed the measure a day after the House Choice and Innovation subcommittee spent two hours hearing experts on sleep and school start times. Chairperson Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, opened the session by describing how important sleep is for the health and academics of adolescents and teens, noting “many teens just do not get enough of it.”

Delaying school start times for teens, Tuck said, is seen as an “effective countermeasure for chronic sleep loss.”

The issue has been the subject of much debate for years in school districts throughout the state, and this change, if adopted, would affect thousands of public school students and their families.

The bill has not yet been assigned to any committees, and does not have a Senate companion. Because it was the sole subject of the House subcommittee this week, though, it is expected to have some traction.