Lee County Implements Safe Start Initiative for Schools

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Lee County Schools implements new start times to enhance student learning.

News Summary

Lee County, Florida, is rolling out the Safe Start Initiative, which adjusts school start times for elementary students to 8:40 a.m. to alleviate bus delays and improve student attendance. This change comes in response to transportation issues that have affected thousands of students. The district also faces a bus driver shortage and is taking measures to recruit new drivers while aiming to create a more efficient transportation system for all students.

Lee County, Florida is implementing a new initiative to adjust school start times to address ongoing bus delays and enhance student achievement. This initiative, known as the Safe Start Initiative, will push back the start times for elementary schools to 8:40 a.m., nearly one hour later than the previous schedule. High schools and middle schools will experience minimal changes to their start times.

Last year, approximately 8,000 students regularly missed their first-period classes due to late bus arrivals, with another 18,000 students being dropped off at home well after classes had ended. This has raised concerns among parents about the reliability of the transportation system, prompting the district to take action.

One parent noted that she is having to adjust her family’s schedule and may incur additional childcare expenses of around $125 per week due to the new start times for her three children attending different schools. Another parent reported instances where her older children were not picked up by their assigned buses, further highlighting the difficulties faced by families relying on the current transportation system.

The district is facing a persistent bus driver shortage that has contributed to disruptions in bus routes and delayed arrivals. To tackle this issue, the district is hosting a bus driver fair and has introduced the new school start times to streamline routes. Additionally, the district is offering free training for those interested in becoming drivers, even without a commercial license. Full-time positions come with benefits and flexible schedules, hoping to attract more drivers to alleviate the existing shortage.

Despite the changes aimed at improving transportation efficiency, it is important to note that delays may continue until more bus drivers are hired, even after the Safe Start Initiative is put into practice. The initiative aims to transition from a four-tier to a three-tier bus system to create a more efficient and safer environment for students.

Under the new schedule, high school class periods will be extended to 49 minutes, and all schools will adopt 30-minute lunch periods. High school students will now be dismissed at 2:00 p.m., which adds approximately 42 hours of instructional time per academic year. This change is expected to benefit students by enhancing their learning conditions and cutting down on wait times at bus stops.

The Safe Start Initiative was developed based on feedback gathered from principled stakeholders, district staff, and community meetings. School leaders emphasize the need to align pick-up and drop-off times with operational schedules amid the ongoing bus driver shortage.

As the district implements these changes, it will provide regular updates to families to assist in the transition to the new schedule. School leaders plan to closely monitor the rollout of the initiative and make adjustments as necessary to ensure a smooth adoption of the new system.

While there is no immediate fiscal impact expected from these adjustments, the changes may affect the transportation budget in the fiscal year 2026. The aim is to create a more reliable and efficient transportation system for Lee County students, ultimately enhancing their educational experience.