Later school start times in Manatee? Why officials say it could be ‘catastrophic’
Manatee County school leaders are requesting an exemption from a state law that would force the district’s high schools to start later in the morning.
On Tuesday, school board members heard from district leaders about how a one-hour change for high schools would “require a massive systemic shift,” and could double transportation needs, exacerbate local traffic and force adjustments in extracurriculars.
The law says middle schools must not start earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. While Manatee County middle schools are already compliant with a 9:20 a.m. start time, high school schedules would require a one-hour adjustment from the current 7:30 a.m. start time.
According to Start School Later, an organization advocating for later start times, about 25% of students report falling asleep once a week during class. It also says chronic sleep loss can impact a student’s learning, emotional well-being and health.
While the district may keep the start times for now, School Board Member Charlie Kennedy suggested the district survey families to gauge interest in pushing all start times 15 minutes later, which wouldn’t put the district in compliance with the state law, but Kennedy said it would be a small step toward his goal of later start times.
District leaders outline impacts of schedule changes
The school board discussed school start times at its workshop on Tuesday. Due to Senate Bill 296 from last year, non-compliant school districts must implement the later start times by July.
“The Florida Legislature enacted strict parameters for secondary school operations, citing the health and academic impacts of sleep deprivation,” the district’s presentation stated.
However, the law allows districts to be exempt from the law if school districts can show how new start times would cause financial impacts and possible unintended consequences. It also requires community input, which the district satisfied through a recent survey.
The survey showed 80% of the 2,900 families surveyed said the current start times work well for their children.
High schools would need to start at 8:30 a.m. rather than 7:30 a.m. if the exemption is not approved.
“It would take a pretty significant change to that start time to get it within compliance,” Deputy Superintendent of Instructional Services Derek Jensen said.
Deputy Superintendent of Operations Willie Clark explained how the district’s buses operate on a tiered route system. With the current start times spread out, bus drivers are able to cover multiple routes for different grade levels.
If the district unified school start times, it would break the tiered bus system, Clark said.
“We considered, if all of the schools start at the same time…that means we need two to three times the amount of buses and bus drivers,” Clark said.
According to a spokesperson for the district, the 2025-26 budget for buses, maintenance and bus driver salaries was $24.8 million.
More buses also means more traffic. Clark estimated that doubling the number of buses would mean there would be about 200 buses on the road during start and dismissal times, which would worsen the county’s traffic problems.
“With traffic as it is throughout the district, to add additional buses on the road could be catastrophic,” Clark said.
District officials said they were unsure if filing an exemption form automatically exempted the district, or if a state agency would review the form and decide whether they are granted the exemption.
While School Board Member Chad Choate III cautioned district leaders to have a “plan B” in case it doesn’t get approved, Superintendent Laurie Breslin said she was not concerned.
“I do feel fairly confident…by providing the documentation that we’re going to provide, that we won’t be denied,” Breslin said.
Board to investigate minor change to start times
School Board Member Heather Felton said, as a former high school teacher, she understands that students are often not fully awake until several hours into the school day.
“And I completely get that, but I know that our parents are happy,” Felton said. “I don’t want to throw a loop into their system the way the schools run ... You know, all of that is just a really big factor for me.”
Kennedy, an advocate for later start times, proposed the district look at taking a “baby step” toward moving start times later by adjusting all school schedules by 15 minutes. He said the 15-minute change “would not require an extra penny.”
“I’ve been on this issue for a long time…and, just the fact that we’re talking about this is such a huge step in the right direction, no matter where we come out of this,” Kennedy said.
Choate cautioned board members that a 15-minute-later start would also mean dismissal times would be later. That said, the hypothetical new dismissal time for middle schools would be 4:25 p.m., which Choate said is worrisome with rush hour traffic.
However, board members agreed to send a short survey out to families to gauge interest in adjusting the start times by 15 minutes, while district officials send the exemption form to the state.
