- April 7, 2026
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Under Lakewood Ranch High's fluorescent lighting, freshman Gabriella Garner has often found herself wanting to put her head down to dull the bright lights in the early morning hours.
Garner said many of her classmates are half asleep in the first two classes, with their productivity low. She is talking about the high school's 7:30 a.m. starting time.
"In middle school, you could get up, do your routine, do some stretching, and you would still get to school on time,” Garner said. “I feel like in high school, even if you are a morning person, you just get up and go to school. You don't have time to do anything.”
Garner might be getting her wish that her school adopts a later starting time. Florida legislators agree with her that some district high schools are limiting students' productivity with start times that are too early.
The 2025 Florida Statute 1001.42(4)(f)2 has set new start times for middle and high schools. It will require middle schools to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. with full implementation by July 1, 2026.
Currently, middle school start times — which are 9:25 a.m. — are in compliance. For high schools, an hour shift later would be needed in order to be in compliance.
During the School District of Manatee County board workshop March 31, board and staff members discussed various ways to adjust.
The district has considered submitting paperwork — an SST-1 Compliance Report — to be exempt from the law in order to avoid reorganizing bus routes and changing families’ routines. It would need to demonstrate that changing schedules would cause significant disruption.
The paperwork for such a request is due by June 1. If the district decides to change start times to be in compliance, that would need to be implemented by July 1.
Derek Jensen is the deputy superintendent of instructional services for the School District of Manatee County. He said if the district submits the request, it doesn’t mean it can’t eventually revert to a different starting time in the future.
The School District of Manatee County sent out a survey to parents and received 2,900 responses from families that represent 3,630 students in the district. In the survey, it was reported that 80% of all respondents said they were satisfied with the current start times.
Jyl Garner, Gabriella’s mom, said she doesn’t think the survey is accurate, because it was one survey across all grade levels. She said she would answer questions differently for different kids. She has two elementary school aged children — Rock Muchmore and Halo Muchmore — along with Gabriella, who is in high school.
Jyl Garner said if the high school starting time is later than the current 7:30 a.m., results with attendance, sick days and performance would improve.
“My biggest thing for the school board and for people would be to understand we have to adapt and progress to how the times have changed,” Jyl Garner said. “Otherwise, the public school system, which is already under scrutiny, is going to get left in the dust.”
During the workshop, it was brought up that an 8:30 a.m. start time seems like the “sweet spot” for high school students, but she said she doesn’t want all levels to start at the same time. The district employees don’t want that either because of logistical issues, mainly because of bussing.
“If all of the schools start at the same time, that means we need two to three times the amount of busses,” said Willie Clark, deputy superintendent of operations. “We'd have 200 busses on the road at one time.”
“I don't think that's what anybody's wanting,” Jyl Garner said. “That would be a colossal issue for parents who have multiple kids in so many different age ranges. Nowadays we have families that have divorced and started over again. We're seeing families that have a 17-year-old and a 2-year-old. No one's asking for everything to start at the same time.”
School Board Member Charlie Kennedy has been wanting to change start times for some time. At the workshop, he presented the idea of taking a “baby step” by pushing back all of the current start times by 15 minutes.
If they decide to go that route, elementary schools would start at 8:40 a.m., middle schools begin at 9:35 a.m. and high schools would start at 7:45 a.m. He is hoping the district would then make starting times an additional 15 minutes later each year until the district is in compliance.
“There are hundreds of districts around the country that have implemented these changes successfully, despite some of the factors that are listed here in the presentation,” Kennedy said.
Mallory Park’s John Simmons has two children who attend B. D. Gullett Elementary School. He said he is originally from New York and high school always has started earlier than elementary and middle schools in his experience.
“It's always been like that,” Simmons said. “I don't see a need to change it now, because of state law. A lot of kids are playing sports, they're having jobs, they're going to school. They're moving toward adulthood, so what's the point of pushing them (to a later start time)?”
Sophi Jo Branscomb, a senior at Braden River High School, lives in Myakka City and gets up early for the commute. She said a later start time would do more harm than good.
The 7:30 a.m. start time allows her to get out of school earlier in the afternoon, and thus she can maintain an after-school job, participate in multiple extracurricular activities, and work on her family farm.
"For me, and for many other students, this would make it much more difficult to balance work, activities and family responsibilities,” she said.
Jensen said the board and the district are willing to accept more input from the community.
