Ready for summer vacation? Some Florida students have to wait until June for school to end

Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
Updated ·6 min read

June 1 doesn't just mark the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season.

For most — but not all — Florida families, it also means summer is here and school is over. So if you haven't starting planning what to do with the kids this summer, you're running out of time.

And speaking of time, the good news — or bad news depending on your point of view — is that schools have two more years to implement the new law that calls for later start times for middle and high schools.

While there are a few counties that will break for Memorial Day and then have students return to the classroom, for all but two school districts, the 2023-2024 school year will be over by the end of May.

For students in Miami-Dade County, school continues until June 5 and for students Broward County, the school year won't end until June 10.

When does school end in Florida?

For students in most Florida public schools, school will end before the arrival of Memorial Day on May 27. For students in 25 counties, they'll head back to school after the holiday for anywhere from one to four days to finish the school year.

Here's when the 2023-2024 school year ends for students in each Florida county:

When are later start times coming to Florida schools?

In May 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law a requirement for later start times for middle and high schools throughout Florida.

The law prevents middle schools from beginning the “instructional day” earlier than 8 a.m., while high schools will be barred from starting the school day before 8:30 a.m.

The later start times will be required by the 2026-2027 school year.The law gave school districts three years to develop plans to implement the changes to the earlier times.

HB733: Additional requirements for each school board

HB733 also requires each district's school board to inform its community — which includes parents, students, teachers, school administrators, athletic coaches — about the health and safety impacts of sleep deprivation on middle and high school students and the benefits of later school start times.

Each district school board must discuss with such groups local strategies to successfully implement the later start times.

When is the earliest date Florida schools can start?

HB733 stated the opening day of schools may not be any earlier than Aug. 10.

When does school start in Florida for the 2024-2025 school year?

Almost every Florida school will start the 2024-2025 school year on the first possible date — Aug. 12 — after Aug. 10, which falls on a Saturday this year.

Florida back-to-school sales tax holiday

A 14-day back-to-school sales tax holiday is proposed from July 29 to Aug. 11, 2024, for clothing, footwear, and backpacks costing $100 or less, school supplies costing $50 or less, learning aids costing $30 or less, and personal computers or computer-related accessories, including non-recreational software, costing $1,500 or less.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: How many days until school ends? Florida dates. Earlier times coming