The majority of schools in Southwest and South Florida open today for the 2025-26 school year.

Schools that open their doors this morning include Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Manatee, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and Sarasota. Aug. 11 is as early as the law allows in Florida.

Monroe County opens Wednesday and Miami-Dade on Friday.

In Southwest Florida, Lee County School Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin has some words of encouragement for parents as their sons and daughters prepare to head out:

“Stay engaged with your child. Be our partners in education. Engagement is being engaged in your child's education, turning off the TV, giving them a quiet place to do their homework, insisting that they read for an hour a day. Those types of things, those are meaningful.”

Carlin reminds drivers that they need to be aware of children walking to school as well as riding those big yellow school buses.

“We will have stop arm cameras that will be installed on our busses, and basically what that means is, when the bus gets ready to stop, you see the little arm come out, the little stop sign, and we expect all of our community members to stop when they see that. Why? Because children are either entering the bus or they're exiting the bus and they're walking home. The law says you must stop. If you do not stop, then there is going to be a fine levied.”

Also in Lee County, Cape Coral has school zone speed cameras at 17 sites to enforce speed limits, primarily during school hours. These cameras, which operate during the school day, issue tickets to drivers exceeding the speed limit by 11 mph or more. The fines for these violations are $100.

A 2023 Florida law required schools to start later in the morning. However, the Florida Legislature produced a new law this year that amended the 2023 measure, letting districts make their own decisions on starting times under specific circumstances.

Also new this year is a ban on cell phone use for elementary and middle school students, as well as limitations for high schoolers during instructional time.

Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the restrictions when he signed education bill package HB 1105.

Kindergarten through 8th grade students are prohibited under the bill from using cell phones, including for social media purposes. High school students are also prohibited, except when permitted by a teacher for academic uses.

A wider cell phone ban in high schools is being examined via the Florida Department of Education across six diverse school districts.

More on the new school year

• Lee County teacher shortage cut by up to 72 percent in one year, from 230-plus to 65 open spots
• Lee, Charlotte, Hendry, Glades, DeSoto, Highlands, some Collier schools to offer free breakfast and lunch for all students
• Florida's back-to-school sales tax holiday is on now through Aug. 31
• Think twice before zipping past a stopped school bus in Lee County
• Cape Coral RedSpeed School Zone Camera Program

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