STUART, Fla. — Starting in August, Martin County public school students will begin school 10 minutes later to put the district in compliance with a state law regulating earlier secondary start times.
On Tuesday, the school board unanimously approved new start times for the 2024-25 school year without discussion.
The law mandates high schools begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m., and middle schools start no earlier than 8 a.m. Districts have until 2026 to comply with the law.
The four Martin high schools will start at 8:30 a.m. with five middle schools at 9:20 a.m. and 12 elementary at 7:40 a.m. All of the schools will move back 10 minutes.
Class end times are 2 p.m. for elementary, 4:05 p.m. for middle and 3:15 p.m. for high school.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Education
The state provides a monetary incentive to districts that comply with the law earlier than 2026, Deputy Superintendent Tracey Miller told the board in a memorandum.
MCSD proposes these funds for messaging and posting of new start and end times and purchasing a bus tracker system for parents.
Martin County's charter schools haven't set new start times.