BACK IN SESSION

What you need to know about the upcoming school year

It may seem like the middle of summer, but hundreds of thousands of South Florida students will be back in their classrooms next week for the beginning of a new school year.

That means lots of school buses back on the roads, 20 mph school zones slowing down traffic, students crossing busy streets and police enforcing a new no-texting-while-driving law.

Palm Beach County schools open on

Monday. Broward opens on Wednesday, while the Miami-Dade year begins on Aug. 19.

On their campuses, students will notice several changes, including an increased security presence and new mental health professionals to assist them with emotional issues, a response to the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Act, passed by the state Legislature after the massacre that killed 17 students and staff in Parkland, requires schools to refer for mental health services any student who has made a threat against the school or is disruptive. The schools must show how they diagnosed and treated these students. This school year is the first the law is fully in effect.

Here’s what you need to know about the new mental health professionals on campuses, as well as changes in traffic patterns and new programs on Palm Beach and Broward campuses.

Traffic: There will be congestion around school campuses in the first few weeks as bus drivers get to know their routes, and students get familiar with their sources of transportation.

“Expect delays,” said John Lyles, Broward County’s school transportation and fleet services director. “It should settle down after Labor Day. There will be 36,000 Broward school employees on the road, as well as 275,000 students, and many parents bring their students to school.”

It’s illegal to pass a school bus while it’s loading or unloading students.

Watch out for the yellow flashing lights that warn you are entering a school zone. The speed limit is 20 mph during drop-off and pickup. Check the hours on the sign to find out when the speed limit is in effect. Texting while driving: A new Florida law bans texting while driving, and that includes using a hand-held cellphone in a school zone or school crossing zone.

The school zone law will be enforced with warnings starting Oct. 1; fines can be imposed beginning Jan. 1.

Fines start at $30 plus court costs for a first violation; a second violation within five years could entail a $60 fine plus court costs and fees. Broward schools — extra security, new programs: Broward schools, which have 234 districtrun schools and 88 charter schools, plan to add about 500 security personnel — including armed guardians and unarmed security specialists and monitors — to the current of staff of 745.

The new positions are funded mostly through a referendum passed by taxpayers last year that raised $93 million a year for four years. Most of the money will pay for teacher raises, but $19 million will go toward security and $8 million will pay for additional guidance counselors, social workers and nurses for the district’s 220,000 students.

The security personnel will include 93 armed guards, up from 47; 686 unarmed campus monitors, up from 328 last year; and 196 security specialists who have more responsibility than the monitors, an increase of 48.

The school district plans to spend $8 million to hire additional mental health professionals, but the school board has not decided yet how to spend the money. Board members will meet Aug. 27 to discuss further details.

On the academic side, the district is adding 35 school robotics teams to enhance its science and technology programs. All schools are set to have VEX robots, designed for students, by the following year. Six high schools will get cyber-security programs, while another six middle schools will welcome drone classes that teach aerial technology and computer coding.

Teachers will get raises ranging from $2,300 to $8,000, depending on their previous level of pay, thanks to a $93 million referendum approved by voters last year. Palm Beach County — security, mental health … and falafel: At least one law enforcement officer will be present on all of the district’s 179 campuses and 52 charter schools each day. In previous years, elementary schools shared their officers.

An assortment of newly hired counselors also will be available for the district’s 191,000 kindergartners through 12th graders, including psychologists, social workers and family counselors.

Schools will get extra security money for special events: $10,000 for every middle school, up from $1,000, and $20,000 for every high school, up from $6,000. And 40 newly hired psychologists will float among schools to help with students’ emotional health.

Instructors with one to four years of experience will get $1,000 extra each year; those with five to nine years will get $5,000 a year; and veterans with 10 years or more will get $10,000 for the next four years.

Students will find several new foods in the cafeteria line, including a blueberry cheese stick, creamy alfredo pasta, frozen fresh fruit and falafel.

“Expect delays ... there will be 36,000 Broward school employees on the road, as well as 275,000 students, and many parents bring their students to school.” — John Lyles, Broward County’s school transportation and fleet services director

TAIMY ALVAREZ/SUN SENTINEL Boca West Children’s Foundation board member Richard Zenker, left, and his wife, far right, watch as Messiah Desir and his new teacher Alina Valdez look through his new school supplies donated by the foundation on Friday in Delray Beach.