When do Florida school start in August? What to know before students go back

Samantha Neely, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
·3 min read

Florida students have less than three weeks to savor the rest of their summer vacation.

Starting Aug. 12, most of the state's students will head back to the classrooms armed with new supplies to help power through lesson plans and homework assignments.

To help prepare for their return, the Florida Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday will take effect across the state starting on Monday, July 29. In the meantime, here's a roundup of when schools will resume in all 67 counties.

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

HB733 stated the opening day of schools may not be any earlier than Saturday, Aug. 10. Almost every Florida school will start the 2024-2025 school year on the first possible date — Aug. 12.

Here's when your county goes back to school:

How many days of school are required in Florida?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the minimum amount of instruction time for Florida students is 180 days.

That amount of time is typical across the country, although there are a few states requiring slightly fewer or more days.

Florida requires children in kindergarten through grade 3 to have instructional time of 720 hours. That time increases to 900 hours for students in grades 4 through 12, although school districts have the option to meet either minimum hours per school year or days per school year.

More than half the schools across the country require a minimum number of hours per school day. Florida does not.

When are later start times coming to Florida schools?

The later start times will be required by the 2026-2027 school year, according to legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis back in May 2023.

DeSantis' law would require a later start time for middle and high schools throughout Florida. The law gave school districts three years to develop plans to implement the changes to the earlier times.

Here’s when new start times will begin: Will Florida schools start later in August 2024?

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.

Read HB733 in its entirety before 2026

Need school supplies? See dates for Florida's 'Back-to-School' sales tax holiday

A 14-day back-to-school sales tax holiday is proposed from Monday, July 29 to Sunday, Aug. 11 for:

  • Clothing, footwear, and backpacks costing $100 or less

  • School supplies costing $50 or less

  • Learning aids costing $30 or less

  • Personal computers or computer-related accessories, including non-recreational software, costing $1,500 or less

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida 2024-2025 school year: See school start times in 67 counties