With the Fourth of July well behind us now, the next thing to look forward to is the first day of school.
OK, some may be more excited about that than others, but at least there’s an opportunity to save money when shopping for school supplies.
This year will bring something different for Florida residents used to the short sales-tax holiday of prior years.
This year, you’ll have a month to purchase school supplies, with the sales-tax holiday lasting from before students return to the classroom to a few weeks afterward.
In Florida, most schools will start on the earliest date possible, Aug. 11.
Here’s what you should know.
When is the Florida back-to-school sales tax holiday for 2025?
The back-to-school sales tax holiday will be held from Aug. 1 through Aug. 31 in 2025.
The month-long holiday replaces the two-week tax holiday held in prior years.
What school supplies can I buy tax-free in Florida?
Florida’s back-to-school sales tax holiday runs from Aug. 1-Aug. 31 in 2025.
Items exempt from sales tax from Aug. 1-31 include:
Most school supplies selling for $50 or less
Learning aids and jigsaw puzzles selling for $30 or less
Clothing, footwear and accessories selling for $100 or less
Computers and related accessories selling for $1,500 or less (when purchased for non-commercial and personal use)
A full list of qualifying items will be “coming soon” and posted at floridarevenue.com/backtoschool, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.
What’s the earliest date Florida schools can start for the 2025-2026 school year?
Florida law prohibits school districts from starting earlier than Aug. 10.
Since Aug. 10 falls on Sunday this year, the earliest start date for the 2025-2026 school year is Monday, Aug. 11.
Fifty-six out of Florida’s 67 counties will start the school year on Aug. 11. The remaining will start later the same week, between Aug. 12 and Aug. 14.
When does school start in Florida? List of all 67 Florida counties
Madison: Aug. 11 – Aug. 13
Several new Florida laws affecting schools went into effect July 1
More than 150 new laws went into effect on July 1, including several that affect schools and education. Here’s what you should know about some of them:
➤ See a complete list and more details about each law
HB 296: Middle School and High School Start Times
What it means for you: Florida changed school start times as of July 1, 2026, to no earlier than 8 a.m. for middle schools and no earlier than 8:30 a.m. for high schools. This allows districts to postpone that deadline while it provides the state with feedback on the costs and benefits.
SB 1470: School Safety
What it means for you: Better-trained school security guards, more accountability.
What it means for you: Students in elementary and middle schools are prohibited from phone or tablet use from bell to bell and at school functions. High school students may not use phones or tablets in class unless directly requested by a teacher, in a designated area. A majority of parents may decide to convert a school into a charter school, without teacher or administrator input.
HB 85: Hazardous Walking Conditions
What it means for you: Under the law, school districts provide transportation for students up to grade 6 if there are hazardous walking conditions on walkways parallel to the road to and from school, and they work with local governments to address the problem. This bill adds walkways along limited-access facilities, including highways, freeways, ramps, and other similar facilities.
HB 248: Student participation in Interscholastic and Intrascholastic Extracurricular Sports
What it means for you: The bill expands the options for home-schooled and private school students to play on interscholastic or intrascholastic athletics at Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) member schools.
SB 1514: Anaphylaxis in Public and Charter Schools
What it means for you: Teachers and school personnel will be trained on preventing and responding to allergic reactions, including using an FDA-approved epinephrine delivery device.
HB 1607: Cardiac Emergencies
What it means for you: First aid and CPR training for kids, better emergency cardiac response in schools.
SB 1102: School Readiness Program
What it means for you: The current law prioritizes children in certain disadvantaged conditions. This bill adds children who require additional accommodations beyond those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, but requires them to be validated by a health care professional, a licensed mental health professional or an educational psychologist, and requires an IEP and an IFSP to determine the child’s eligibility for accommodations.
HB 259: Special Observances (Fentanyl Awareness Day)
What it means for you: Designates Aug. 21 as “Fentanyl Awareness and Education Day.” The Department of Health, the Department of Children and Families, local governments, public schools, and other agencies are encouraged to sponsor events to promote awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and potential overdoses.
SB 356: Holocaust Remembrance Day
What it means for you: Establishes Jan. 27 as “Holocaust Remembrance Day.” Requires the governor to proclaim the day annually; allows the day to be observed in public schools (with instruction on the harmful impacts of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism as well as the positive impacts of the Jewish community on humanity), the Capitol, and elsewhere as designated.
HB 443 — Education
What it means for you: Charter schools are more empowered. Virtual students can play on school sports teams.
HB 447: Disability History and Awareness Instruction (Evin B. Hartsell Act)
What it means for you: During a two-week period:
Students in kindergarten through grade 3 must be taught about bullying (including what to do if they are being bullied or see it happen) and physical disabilities
Students in grades 4 through 6 must be taught about autism spectrum disorder
Students in grades 7 through 9 must be taught about hearing impairments
Students in grades 10 through 12 must receive information on different types of learning and intellectual disabilities.
HB 549: Gulf of America (Schools)
What it means to you: Requires the former Gulf of Mexico to be changed to “Gulf of America” in any geographical material in state agencies and in instructional materials or library media adopted or acquired in Florida schools after July 1.
HB 597: Diabetes Management in Schools
What it means for you: Students with diabetes experiencing a hypoglycemic emergency can be treated much more quickly, even if they didn’t have their own medications at the school. A district or public school may also get a prescription for glucagon from a county health department or authorized healthcare practitioner.
HB 809: School Social Workers
What it means for you: School social workers will no longer need to meet mastery of “general and subject area knowledge” requirements, only the state licensing.
SB 958: Type 1 Diabetes Early Detection Program
What it means for you: Annual notifications to parents and guardians of VPK, kindergarten and first-grade students about the materials.
HB 1145: Workforce Education
What it means for you: More money for charter schools, more emphasis on workforce programs.
SB 1374: School District Reporting Requirements
What it means for you: Faster removal of teachers who have been arrested.
HB 1237: Human Trafficking
What it means for you: All public school employees who have contact with students must receive training on human trafficking awareness.
What it means for you: It may become harder to qualify for School Readiness services, and requires that school districts get parental consent before using corporal punishment.
SB 1402: Students Enrolled in Dropout Retrieval Programs
What it means for you: Requires all dropout retrieval programs that help students who have withdrawn from high school to choose between a school improvement rating or a school grade.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida school sales tax holiday, start dates by county, new laws