The Orange County Public Schools Board of Education on Tuesday reviewed state requirements and district scenarios for changing school start times and directed staff to design a stakeholder engagement plan and timeline for a report the district must submit to the Florida Department of Education by June 1, 2026.

Superintendent Maria F. Vasquez said "the plan had to be cost neutral," and staff presented transportation, operational and student-service implications of putting elementary, middle or high schools on the first bell tier.

The board heard a summary of Florida legislation driving the review: House Bill 733 and Senate Bill 1112 (2023) set later start-time goals, and the measures were later amended in House Bill 261 and Senate Bill 296 to allow districts to be deemed in compliance if they submit a department-prescribed report by June 1, 2026, documenting start times, strategies considered, public input opportunities and the anticipated impacts, including financial effects. Bill Wench, the district’s senior director of transportation services, told the board that state policy and current routing practices make a one-hour minimum window between tiers critical to avoid adding buses and cost.

Wench said transportation is required for students who live 2 miles or more from their assigned school and explained that runs and routes are built to maximize bus re-use between tiers; he said an hour between tiers reduces the number of buses needed and helps keep the plan cost neutral. Mary Bridges, senior executive director for student services, outlined educational and family impacts, including earlier morning pickups for elementary students, later dismissals for middle and high schools, effects on extracurriculars and after‑school employment, and possible loss of teacher common planning time at middle schools if schedules shift to match high-school length.

Staff and board members discussed operational options and trade-offs. Staff presented one cost-neutral option that would place elementary schools first (example bell times presented: elementary 7:45–2:00, high school 8:40–3:40, middle school 9:35–4:35). Staff warned that middle-school dismissals in that scenario would move into late afternoon, potentially reducing coaching and staff availability and creating later afternoon traffic impacts.

Board members pressed for detailed, equitable community engagement. Roberto Pacheco, chief operations officer, repeated staff recommendations to "define the strategy to gather community input" and to assess implementation costs and transportation feasibility before any policy change. The board generally endorsed starting with a districtwide thought-exchange survey and asked staff to propose outreach mechanics (town halls, online surveys, translated materials and short explanatory videos) and a timeline that would allow the district to meet the June 1, 2026 submission deadline.

On specific numbers discussed, the transportation team reported that the district transports about 17,000 eligible elementary students (roughly 22 percent of the total elementary population) and that approximately 60 minutes between tiers is the planning figure staff used to keep bus counts and driver hours steady. When asked about facility impacts, staff reported a facilities-team estimate of about $425,000 per athletic field to add lighting, and an approximate total of $24,000,000 to add lighting across affected middle schools and K-8 campuses; that figure was presented to the board by Roberto Pacheco as coming from the facilities team’s estimate.

Board members also discussed possible revenue and operational opportunities tied to bus stop-arm cameras; several members urged a prompt request-for-proposals. Superintendent Vasquez said the district had pursued stop-arm camera options but that the county sheriff’s office previously declined to move forward under the legislative language then in effect, and that the district had paused to review contract alternatives. "Sheriff Mina currently is not on board with us moving forward as the language stated in the legislation," Vasquez said.

No formal motion or vote was taken during the work session. The board instructed staff to draft a community-engagement plan, present a timeline and a recommended report format back to the board, and to return with scenarios that include cost estimates, bus-driver implications and implementation constraints so the board could decide next steps. The district will file the required report with the Florida Department of Education by June 1, 2026, whether or not the board changes start times.

Board members indicated they will weigh community responses, staff impact bargaining considerations and operational feasibility when deciding whether to change bell schedules. Staff said any change affecting teacher work hours or assignments could trigger impact bargaining under existing contracts.

The board expects staff to return in the coming weeks with a proposed outreach plan, draft survey materials and a timeline that fits the state reporting deadline.