Palm Beach County students go back to school on Monday. Here are six important things to know for the big day.
Katherine KokalPalm Beach Post
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Palm Beach County students head back to school on Monday. When they do, every high schooler in the county will walk through a metal detector, and every student of all ages will be eligible for free breakfast and lunch.
The start of the 2024-25 school year may be the year in recent memory with the fewest uncertainties: no last-minute updates to COVID-19 policies, no big overhauls of district policies impacting LGBTQ+ students or flip-flopping on the curriculum and classes like AP Psychology.
Even the weather looks promising — Palm Beach County's forecasted high on Monday is the lowest expected all week (still hovering around 90 degrees), and the day looks like it will be partly cloudy.
That's a far cry from the start of last school year when students faced record-breaking heat and full sun exposure that wilted even the freshest of "first day of school" outfits.
But all those factors don't mean there's nothing new to this school year. Here are six things to know about the upcoming year.
1. Every high school will have metal detectors at the entrance
Following a successful pilot program in summer 2023 and a rollout at four schools at a time last school year, stand-alone metal detectors are operational at all 24 district-run high schools for the 2024-25 school year.
All students, school staff and visitors will need to walk through the metal detectors on their way onto campus.
Metal detectors will be placed in the school's front office to scan any visitors during the school day, too, School Police Chief Sarah Mooney said Monday.
2. Don't change those alarms: School start times will be the same in 2024
School start times will be normal this year, although a new state law requires middle and high schools to begin later starting in 2026.
Palm Beach County school leaders are weighing three different proposals to push back school start timesfor middle and high schoolers. All three preliminary proposals ultimately change start times for all grade levels. One plan moves back elementary start times to 7:30 a.m., while another plan moves middle school start times to 10:20 a.m.
The school district will begin surveying parents on the plans this month, Superintendent Mike Burke said Monday.
Currently, most district-operated high schools begin at about 7:30 a.m., elementary schools begin at about 8 a.m. and middle schools begin at about 9:30 a.m.
A full bell time schedule by school can be found on the school district's website.
3. Free breakfast and lunch continues for all in 2024-25 school year
All Palm Beach County students will be able to get free breakfast and lunch this school year, regardless of income or where they attend school, thanks to federal grant money.
Students do not need to fill out an application to get the free meals.
4. Staff shortages at lower levels than last year
Burke said Monday that the district is short about 250 teaching positions, representing a vacancy rate of 2.2% among the district's 13,000 instructional employees.
That's far lower than last year's shortage of about 500 teachers. In a normal year, the district needs to hire about 200 more teachers at the start of the year.
Burke said every classroom will be covered by a teacher on the first day of school.
Elsewhere, the district needs to hire about 66 bus drivers in order to cover absences across its 500 bus routes. Last school year, the district was short more than 100 bus drivers ahead of the start of the year.
5. Teachers now required by state law to lock classroom doors
A new state law requires teachers and school staff to lock all classroom doors and school gates any time students are on campus — including after-hours during athletic practices and club meetings.
Mooney said the district's policy on classroom-door locking changed last year, and she expects no changes to that now-established practice of making sure classroom doors are locked. School police officers and administrators check to make sure classroom doors are locked "whenever they walk down a hallway."
As for school gates, Mooney said it's every teacher, coach and school staffer's responsibility to make sure campuses are secure after hours.
6. BONUS: When is fall break, winter break 2024 in Palm Beach County schools?
Students will be out of school on Tuesday, Aug. 20, for primary-election day and Monday, Sept. 2, for Labor Day.
They will get two weekdays off in October: Thursday, Oct. 3, and Monday, Oct. 14.
For Thanksgiving, students will be off the whole week starting Monday, Nov. 25. They'll go back to school Monday, Dec. 2.
At the end of the year, students will be out of school from Monday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.
They'll return to school on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her atkkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work.Subscribe today!
