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Board weighs filing SST-1 compliance report after family survey; staff to run a short follow-up on a 15-minute shift
Summary
After staff reported 2,900 family survey responses showing 80% satisfaction with current start times, the board discussed the new Florida start-time law and the SST-1 compliance option. Staff will run a short, focused survey on a proposed 15-minute shift and return with transportation logistics; an SST-1, if pursued, must be submitted by June 1.
District staff presented options March 31 for responding to Florida's 2023 secondary school start-time statute and the 2025 compliance pathway that allows districts to maintain current schedules by filing a short impact report (form SST-1).
Deputy of Instruction Derek Jensen summarized the law and the alternative: districts that document community input, operational impacts and unintended consequences may submit an SST-1 compliance report to the state in lieu of immediately changing start times. Jensen told the board the district received roughly 2,900 survey responses representing about 3,600 students and that "80% of all respondents said their child's current school start time works well for their family." He also reported that high schools currently start at 7:30 a.m., elementary at 8:25 a.m. and middle school at 9:20 a.m.
Transportation director (Mister Clark) warned the board that moving all schools to a single, later start would require many more buses and drivers under the district's three-tier system; running all schools at 8:30 a.m. could double or triple the number of buses on the road. The transportation team said smaller adjustments or tier reconfigurations might avoid large capital or driver increases but would create different traffic and supervisory trade-offs.
Board response: several members said staff should pursue the SST-1 compliance pathway because it aligns with most family responses, while also preparing a plan B in case the Department of Education rejects the report. Board member Mister Kennedy proposed a low-cost pilot: shift each level 15 minutes later next school year as an incremental step to evaluate impacts without incurring bus-purchase costs. "Let's... push each level back 15 minutes," he said, describing it as "plan A and plan B wrapped together." Several members asked staff to test the 15-minute idea with a short, focused community survey and return with precise transportation and after-school impacts.
Staff timeline: Jensen said a draft SST-1 would be presented to the board in May for approval and reminded members that the state's submission deadline is in early June; staff will run the short follow-up survey and analyze logistics in time to inform the May board action.
Quotes: "80% of all respondents said their child's current school start time works well for their family," Jensen said. "We could file a report with the state saying we aren't going fully back an hour, but we are taking a baby step," Kennedy said when outlining a 15-minute shift pilot.
Context and next steps: the board asked staff to return with a short survey focused on a 15-minute shift and a logistics/financial analysis of bus routes, student activities and impacts on after-school programs. If the board votes to submit an SST-1, staff will prepare an evidence-backed report for the state by the June 1 filing deadline; the board may still revisit start times in future years.
