Ron Says Wake Up!
If your teen was already dreaming of extra shut-eye thanks to those new school start times—bad news. That dream just hit the snooze button… permanently.
In a rare political U-turn, Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation repealing the law that was set to delay middle and high school start times statewide. Translation? That plan to let students start later? It’s officially out the window.
Originally passed in 2023, House Bill 733 gave schools until 2026 to push middle school start times to after 8:00 a.m. and high school start times to after 8:30 a.m.—because science says teens are basically sleep-deprived zombies. But after months of town halls, parental pushback, and school districts throwing up red flags (and maybe dry-erase boards), lawmakers decided: never mind.
🎒 Local school leaders warned of:
– Massive transportation headaches
– A full-blown shortage of bus drivers
– Budget strain
– After-school chaos
– And the classic parent rebuttal: “If they’re staying up late now, they’ll just stay up even later.”
Even lawmakers who once supported the idea jumped ship. “We may have walked into a minefield,” said Sen. Danny Burgess (R-Zephyrhills). Meanwhile, Sen. Jason Pizzo chimed in with a heartfelt, “Uncle J thinks you should get to sleep in,” which is adorable but sadly not binding legislation.
Now, with Senate Bill 296, each school district gets to decide whether to keep the rooster call schedule or try letting students sleep past sunrise. Here in Tampa Bay, most high schools still start around 7:10 a.m.—so unless Hillsborough changes its mind, your teen’s alarm isn’t going anywhere.
📣 What do you think, Southshore?
Is this common-sense flexibility or just bad news for tired teens?