CLAY COUNTY - Clay County District Schools announced on April 6 that school start times for the upcoming school year will remain the same. 

Yes, you read right. After much deliberation, the School Board voted to keep the bell schedule unchanged. 

The concept stemmed from House Bill 733, previously proposed in 2023. It required that the instructional day of district and charter middle schools start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m. to help combat the impacts of sleep deprivation on students. Instead of moving forward with the statutory requirement, a revised version of the bill (Senate Bill 296) allows all district school boards and charter schools to determine their own schedules and submit a report to the Florida Department of Education by June 1.

The school district surveyed the community on the effectiveness of three different options, two of which would've seen elementary students go to school as early as 7:20 a.m.  The survey received more than 20,000 responses from parents and guardians, students, school employees and community members.

"Your voice played a critical role in this decision, and the data showed a clear preference for maintaining our current schedules," the district posted to social media. 

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