Florida first day of school 2024 coming fast. 9 things you should know (2024)

Tax free holiday on school supplies ends Aug. 11.
Most Florida schools start Aug. 12.
See requirements schools must follow to keep students safe.

Time is running out for Florida students to enjoy lazy summer days.

The first day of school for most of the state's school districts is Aug. 12. The remaining schools will start the same week, with latest start date in the state being Aug. 15 for schools inMiami-Dade County.

For middle and high school students, the bad news is that the 2024-2025 school year is not the year when later start times begin.

➤ School report cards:How did your school do?

For drivers, it means allowing extra time with school buses on the roads and watching for children heading to schools and bus stops, especially in areas where there are no sidewalks.

And for parents, it means the final hours are here to purchase school supplies, especially since the back-to-school sales tax holiday ends Aug. 11.

Florida school calendar: When is first day of school?

The earliest Florida schools can open for the 2024-2025 school year is Aug. 10, but that's a Saturday this year. Almost every Florida school will start Aug. 12. The latest start date is in Miami-Dade County, where students will start Aug. 15.

Florida sales tax holiday helps save on school supplies

Florida's14-day back-to-school sales tax holidaystarted July 29, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 11 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.

What school supplies can you buy tax free?

Items purchased online are exemptfrom sales tax when the order is accepted by the company during the sales-tax holiday for immediate shipment, even if delivery is made after the tax holiday, the Florida Department of Revenue said.

Here are the types of school supplies you can purchase tax free until Aug. 11:

Personal computers or personal computer-related accessories purchased for non-commercial home or personal use having a sales price of $1,500 or less. Personal computers include:
- Calculators
- Desktops
- Electronic book readers
- Handhelds
- Laptops
- Tablets
- Tower computers

The term does not include cell phones, video game consoles, digital media receivers, or devices that are not primarily designed to process data.

Personal computer-related accessories include:
- Keyboards
- Mice
- Modems
- Monitors
- Nonrecreational software
- Other peripheral devices
- Personal digital assistants
- Routers

Items having a sales price of $100 or less per item, including:
Clothing
- All footwear, excluding skis, swim fins, roller blades, and skates
- Any article of wearing apparel intended to be worn on or about the human body, excluding watches, watchbands, jewelry, umbrellas, and handkerchiefs
Wallets or bags, including:
- Backpacks
- Diaper bags
- Fanny packs
- Handbags

Briefcases, suitcases, and other garment bags are excluded.

School supplies having a sales price of $50 or less per item, including:
- Binders
- Cellophane tape
- Compasses
- Composition books
- Computer disks
- Construction paper
- Crayons
- Erasers
- Folders
- Glue or paste
- Legal pads
- Lunch boxes
- Markers
- Notebooks
- Notebook filler paper
- Pencils
- Pens
- Poster board
- Poster paper
- Protractors
- Rulers
- Scissors
- Staplers and staples used to secure paper products
Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles having a sales price of $30 or less, including:
- Flashcards or other learning cards
- Interactive or electronic books and toys intended to teach reading or math skills
- Matching or other memory games
- Puzzle books and search-and-find books
- Stacking or nesting blocks or sets

Full list of what's included in Florida's school sales-tax holiday

➤Can't see the list? See complete list of tax-free items.

Later start times coming to middle, high schools ... but not this year

In May 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a lawrequiring later start times for middle and high schoolsthroughout Florida.

➤ 9 things to know about new school start times

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 start times.

Interactive map: See school test scores

Track your school's letter grade and performance over the years and explore student testing scores, racial and gender demographics of staff and students.

Florida testing schedule for FAST, Florida Assessment of Student Thinking

The Florida Department of Education schedules testing windows for school districts to complete the FAST exams.

The schedule for the 2024-2025 school year is:

Aug. 5-Sept. 27: Grades K–2 FAST English Language Arts (ELA) Reading & Mathematics
Aug. 12-Sept. 27: Grades 3–10 FAST ELA Reading; Grades 3–8 FAST Mathematics
Sept. 9-Oct. 4: End-of-Course (EOC) Assessments for Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology 1, Civics, U.S. History
Dec. 2-Jan. 24: Grades K–2 FAST Reading & Mathematics; Grades 3–10 FAST ELA Reading; Grades 3–8 FAST Mathematics
Dec. 2-20: EOC Assessments for Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology 1, Civics, U.S. History
March 31-April 11: Writing for Grades 4–10
April 14-May 30: Grades K–2 FAST Reading & Mathematics
May 1-30: Grades 3–10 FAST ELA Reading; Grades 3–8 FAST Mathematics; Grades 5 & 8 Science; EOC Assessments for Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology 1, Civics, U.S. History

Florida school safety: How do schools keep students, staff safe?

Florida statutes and administrative codes require public and charter schools to comply with the following:

Section1006.12, F.S., requires one or more safe-school officers at each school facility in the district.

Compliance with Rule 6A-1.0018, F.A.C. includes:

A trained, armed safe-school officer assigned to every school facility.
Implementation of a mobile panic alert system.
A dedicated threat management team at every school and district.
A designated, trained school safety specialist in every district.
School board-adopted plans for active assailant and family reunification.
Regular emergency drills at all schools.
Annual school and district risk assessments.
Safety incident data reporting.

How can parents keep their children safe?

The Red Cross offers the following safety checklist and safety tips:

Teach children:

Their phone number, address, how to get in touch with their parents at work, how to get in touch with another trusted adult and how to dial 911.
Not to talk to strangers or accept rides from someone they don’t know.

If your child walks to school, teach them to:

Walk on the sidewalk. If no sidewalk is available, walk facing traffic.
Stop and look left, right and left again to see if cars are coming.
Cross the street at the corner, obey traffic signals and stay in the crosswalk.
Never run out into the street or cross between parked cars.

If your student takes the bus to school, teach them to:

Get to their bus stop early and stand away from the curb while waiting for the bus to arrive.
Board the bus only after it has come to a complete stop and the driver or attendant has instructed them to get on. And only board their bus, never an alternate one.
Stay in clear view of the bus driver and never walk behind the bus.

If your student rides their bike to school, teach them to:

Always wear a helmet.
Ride on the right in the same direction as the traffic is going.