‘Parents will love that’: School bus tracking app in the works in Martin County

By Stephanie Susskind

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    MARTIN COUNTY, Florida (WPTV) — Students in Martin County will get a little more sleep next year.

The district is pushing start times back as part of an effort to comply with a new state law.

How much of a difference does 10 minutes make? Maybe it’s more sleep or more time to get ready. That’s what Martin County students, staff, and parents will find out next year when school starts 10 minutes later.

“10 minutes later, that’s a big chunk. But I think it should be good,” parent Lashon Simpson said.

Simpson said her middle school daughter will like hearing the school bell ring a little later.

“My daughter is up at 5:30. She’s in the mirror already. So I guess for her, it will give her more time, definitely, and I’m sure be able to sleep a little bit more now that school is a little later,” Simpson said.

The Martin County School District is pushing school start times back to comply with a new state law that requires middle school to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high school no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

“I think parents will like that extra time in the morning to get their kids up and fed and off to school. And I’m sure they don’t mind the extra 10 minutes in the afternoon. So I think it will be a good thing,” parent Kristal Rutland said.

Martin County elementary schools will start at 7:40 a.m., middle schools at 9:20 a.m., and high schools will push to 8:30 a.m.

The law does not take effect until 2026. But since Martin County is making the change early, it’s getting funding from the state. The district will use some of that money to purchase a bus tracking app for parents.

“So we can give them information on where the actual bus is at any given time,” said Frank Frangella, the safety and security chief for the Martin County School District. “So this way, if the bus is late, they can check on the app and see where it is in real time. So it would better serve the community. So at least they know where the buses are, when the buses are coming.”

Frangella said the district is in the early stages of choosing an app that will give parents and guardians real time bus tracking information.

“Being able to have that access for kids who take the bus is gonna be great for parents,” Simpson said.

“I think that’s a good thing,” Rutland added. “I think parents will love that. It’s a good upgrade.”

While only the high school start times needed to be adjusted to meet the state law requirements, all of the Martin County school times are shifting to accommodate bus routes, which parents should be able to track in the new school year.

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