The four school districts in South Florida will begin the 2026-27 school year in the second week of August with staggered dates, new state laws and significant changes in food services, transportation, and budget, according to reports from local media.
Broward and Palm Beach will open their doors on Sunday, August 10, becoming the first districts in South Florida to resume classes.
Following is Monroe County (the Florida Keys), which is set to start its academic year on Wednesday, the 12th.
Miami-Dade County - the largest district in the state - starts the academic year on Thursday, August 13, and will conclude on June 3, 2027.
The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Miami will start on Monday, August 11.
In total, 38 of the 67 counties in Florida begin on August 10.
Tax exemption: Take advantage until August 20
Florida keeps its back-to-school tax exemption active from July 20 to August 20, 2026, in both physical stores and online.
The exemption covers clothing and footwear up to $100 per item, school supplies up to $50, educational materials up to $30, and technological equipment - laptops, tablets, and peripherals - up to $1,500 for non-commercial household use.
Cell phones, video game consoles, and purchases made at theme parks, hotels, or airports are excluded.
Miami-Dade: Cuts, new teachers, and the end of universal free meals
The superintendent José Dotres recently led an induction session for approximately 200 new teachers at American Senior High School in Hialeah, covering topics such as lesson planning, discipline strategies, and teaching pace, as reported by Local 10.
"This is the best school district in the country," Dotres stated before the new teachers.
The district eliminated 168 jobs and closed or consolidated nine schools due to a decline of 13,000 students between the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years.
According to the Florida Policy Institute, the state's universal education voucher program has driven an increase in enrollment at private schools, contributing to a decline in public schools.
In food service, Miami-Dade ends universal free lunch: only 121 schools that meet the federal threshold of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) will continue to offer breakfast and lunch at no cost.
Lunch at full price will cost $4.20 and breakfast $2.50. Breakfast will remain free for all students from kindergarten to eighth grade.
Broward: Cameras with artificial intelligence and budget shortfall
Broward rejoined the CEP in June, so its participating schools will offer free meals to all enrolled students.
However, the district is projecting an additional decline of 5,006 students and a budget shortfall of between $80 and $94 million, and has already notified 300 employees that their positions may be eliminated.
As a road safety measure, Broward equipped nearly 1,300 school buses with artificial intelligence cameras to detect drivers who illegally pass stopped buses.
The warning period begins on August 10; starting from September 9, fines will be $225.
New state laws and transportation
The 2026-27 school year introduces two regulatory changes. Florida mandates the teaching of cursive writing for grades 2 to 5, with proficiency required by the end of fifth grade.
Furthermore, the state introduces new standards for History of Communism for grades six to twelve, which depict communist regimes—including Cuba, Venezuela, China, and the former Soviet Union—as associated with poverty, repression, and violence.
There will be no lack of specific references to Raúl Castro and the downing of Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996.
Regarding transportation, the rules vary by county: Miami-Dade only covers students who live more than 3.2 kilometers from their home school; Broward requires a prior identification number; Palm Beach requires registration with the Department of Transportation; and Monroe is the only county that does not require pre-registration, allowing students to process their pass directly with the driver at the beginning of the school year.
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