A Florida House panel on Tuesday approved legislation that would provide school districts flexibility in meeting a state mandate requiring later start times for middle and high schools.

The House Education Administration Subcommittee unanimously advanced HB 261, sponsored by Rep. Anne Gerwig, which would allow districts to comply with the 2023 law by submitting reports outlining their school start times, implementation strategies, public feedback, financial impacts, and potential challenges.

Current law, set to take effect in 2026, requires high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and middle schools no earlier than 8 a.m.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 733 into law in 2023, which mandated that middle school classes cannot begin earlier than 8 A.M. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 A.M.

According to research conducted by The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) as the 2023 bill was heard in committees, school start times vary across the state and even within school districts. OPPAGA found that for Florida public schools, on average, high schools begin at 7:47 A.M., elementary schools begin at 8:14 A.M., and middle schools begin at 9:06 A.M.

For charter schools, OPPAGA found that, on average, charter high schools begin at 7:44 A.M., charter elementary schools begin at 8:08 A.M., and charter middle schools begin at 8:09 A.M.

During a presentation given to the House Choice and Innovation Subcommittee in February 2023, experts referred to scientific studies that found most American teenagers to not receive enough sleep on a consistent basis. A series of pediatricians also informed lawmakers that a lack of sleep actively contributes to metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes, systematic inflation, and mental or behavioral health issues.

“We know that sleep is food for our brains and contributes to important cognitive and performance-related functions that we undertake every day,” Rep. Kaylee Tuck, chairwoman of the committee said in 2023. “Sleep for adolescents is even more important as we consider that their sleep patterns undergo changes in their teenage years and many just don’t get enough.”

Lawmakers also viewed data showing that satisfactory sleep patterns in teenagers can be linked to a lower rate of automobile accidents, alcohol, and drug consumption.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, which backed the 2023 bill, recognizes insufficient sleep in adolescents as an “important public health issue,” claiming that it significantly affects the health and safety, as well as the academic success, of middle and high school students. The group contends that later school start times are an effective measure to combat chronic sleep loss issues.