Polk leaders preparing for school start time changes in 2026

POLK COUNTY, Fla. - District leaders in Polk County are hosting community meetings this month to try to prepare families for upcoming changes to school start times.

A law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis last year will mandate that Florida middle and high schools start after 8 a.m. in 2026 onward, after studies showing health concerns associated with a lack of sleep in adolescents.

"There’s still a lot of people in the community that have no idea this is coming down the pipe. It’s going to affect everybody, even if you don’t have kids in school," said Ryan DelliVeniri, Polk County Advisory Committee. "It’ll affect your morning and afternoon commute, and if you’re an employer, it will change how you can leverage high schoolers in the labor market."

Polk County officials are looking at bus schedules, traffic concerns, before and after school programs, and potentially staggering school start times to ease concerns.

READ: Why are more people moving to Polk County than any county in the country?

These later school start times will also impact extracurricular activities, like athletics and job opportunities for teens.

"As a parent, I want my child to have a job and have that experience, and starting [school] later will limit the hours to work those part time jobs," said Kevin Levine, the principal of Harrison School of the Arts.

"We have student athletes that have to work after practice, and those kids are going to be in a situation where they may have to choose and we don’t want that," said Dan Talbot, Polk Athletics Director.

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The school districts hope they can plan and meet the needs of students by the implementation of this new law in July 2026.

The next public comment meeting in Polk County is on Thursday, March 28 at the Stuart Center in Bartow.

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