Orange County public schools to discuss changing high school start times
ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - Orange County Public Schools will host meetings to discuss possibly change start times at high school.
The bell currently rings at 7:20 a.m., but concerns over class starting too early prompted a series of community meetings to discuss four other start time options, one of them being starting over an hour later than the current start time.
Officials have been thinking about pushing back the start times for over two years, citing research that points to the benefits it gives to teenagers.
“The research is clear that a later start time for adolescents is positive,” OCPS Chief Communications Officer Scott D. Howat said. “It makes a positive difference in academics so we’re looking to move that later and do it in a way that doesn’t cost a lot of money.”
The four different start times being proposed for high schoolers:
- 8:00 a.m.
- 8:45 a.m.
- 8:45 a.m. with middle schoolers going 33 minutes longer in the day
- 8:20 a.m. and moving to a 6 hour day instead of a 7 hour day
All of these changes require a delicate balance with middle and elementary school start times, since bus routes can make or break the schedules and budget.
“Any change in that would cause the district to spend more money on buses and to have to hire more drivers,” Howat said.
Once Orange County Public Schools completes all of their community meetings over the next couple of month, they plan to take a vote on new high school start times by November or December.
The first two committee meetings are Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m., one at Evans High School and the other at Lake Nona High School.
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