Daylight saving time 2023: As school starts in Florida, here's when we fall back

Jennifer Sangalang, Palm Beach Post
·6 min read

Who's ready to wake up early again?

This week, many Florida public school students (and their parents!) are preparing for back to school for Fall 2023. Nationwide, August or early September is typically when school starts up, and those days of sleeping in after the long dog days of summer come to a close. In a nutshell, your sleeping pattern may be disrupted.

Let's call it a dress rehearsal for daylight saving time.

Daylight saving time for 2023 will end at 2 a.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 5, for "fall back." That's when people will change their wall clocks and set them back one hour, giving them an extra hour of sleep. And after daylight saving time, it should be lighter out earlier in the day. Supporters say this will increase visibility and possibly reduce car crashes and car accidents involving pedestrians or children walking to school.

Below are things to know about back to school in Florida, daylight saving time, fall back and spring forward.

When do Florida students go back to school for 2023-2024 year?

This varies by county, but almost all public schools in USA TODAY Network-Florida coverage areas start Aug. 10. Here's a roundup of what we've found, along with links to the entire 2023-2024 instructional calendar in your county:

Get ready for later school start: In 2026-2027, schools to start later for Florida middle, high schoolers. 9 things to know about new law

What is daylight saving time?

According to timeanddate.com, "daylight saving time is the practice of setting the clocks one hour ahead of standard time to make use of more sunlight in the spring, summer, and fall evenings. Daylight Saving Time (DST) is used to save energy and make better use of daylight. It was first used in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada."

Daylight saving time became a national standard in 1966 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act, which was established as a way to continue to conserve energy. The thinking was, if it's light out longer, that's less time you'll need to use lights in your home.

When is daylight saving time 2023?

Daylight saving time for 2023 started at 2 a.m. EST Sunday, March 12, for "spring forward" and will end at 2 a.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 5, for "fall back."

When is daylight saving time 2024?

Daylight saving time for 2024 will be at 2 a.m. EST Sunday, March 10, for "spring forward" and 2 a.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 3, for "fall back." Fun fact: Election Day 2024 is Tuesday, Nov. 5, two days after daylight saving time.

What is the Sunshine Protection Act?

The Sunshine Protection Act would permanently extend daylight saving time from eight months of the year to the full 12 months. The bill was first introduced in January 2021 by Buchanan and reintroduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida and seven other bipartisan members of Congress in March 2022. The bill would make daylight saving time permanent across the U.S. The measure has not yet been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, nor has it been signed into law by President Biden.

Click here to read the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 bill from congress.gov.

Did the Sunshine Protection Act pass?

The Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 passed the Florida Legislature, but Florida could not implement the law without Congress' approval. It did not pass the U.S. House.

Rubio sponsored the bill in the Senate while Buchanan filed the House companion bills.

According to the bill on congress.gov, all actions have taken place in March — in 2021, Rubio introduced it; in 2022, the House "held at the desk," which means they never voted on it.

On March 2, 2023, 12 U.S. senators reintroduced legislation that would make daylight saving time − commonly referred to as daylight savings time, daylight-saving time, and daylight's saving time (all are incorrect, by the way, according to Associated Press Style) − permanent, nearly a year after the Senate voted unanimously to end changing the wall clocks twice a year.

Another strong supporter of nixing daylight saving time? Sen. Rick Scott. In 2018 when he was Florida governor, Scott signed legislation aimed at putting the Sunshine State on year-round daylight saving time — but such a change required congressional approval. Scott is one of the legislators who reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023.

What does "spring forward, fall back" mean?

According to dictionary.com, daylight saving, commonly referred to as daylight savings, "is begun in the spring by setting clocks one hour ahead. They are then set one hour back in the fall. ... People often use the simple mnemonic spring forward, fall back to remember to set clocks forward one hour (e.g., from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.) in the spring and backward one hour (e.g., from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m.) in the fall."

Which states don't observe daylight saving time?

Arizona and Hawaii do not recognize DST. There's also no need to change the clocks in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.

Which states don't want to observe daylight saving time?

More than 30 states are considering legislation related to the practice of changing clocks twice a year, and seven states — Alabama, Arkansas, Nevada, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and Florida — have already approved the legislation. However, these states still need the OK from Congress to enact the change.

Which countries observe daylight saving time?

Daylight saving time is used in more than 70 countries worldwide and affects more than a billion people each year. The beginning and end dates vary from one country to another.

What are the pros of daylight saving time?

If permanent daylight saving time takes effect, the biggest pro by far would be no sleep disruption. No need to change your clock twice a year before, at or after 2 a.m. on a Sunday in the fall and spring.

Other perks would be more time during the day to be out and about, and experts say it's better for your health — no sleep disruption. No preparing-for-bed or waking-up habits to change.

Contributing: Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY Network-Florida

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 2023 daylight savings, back to school in Florida, Sunshine Protection Act