Land O' Lakes and Lutz families heading back to Hillsborough County Public Schools this August will find three concrete changes waiting for them: free field trips, less screen time for the youngest students, and 82 fewer semester exams.
The district announced the changes Wednesday, July 15. The announcement came two weeks after HCPS earned its first A grade from the Florida Department of Education since 2014. "Earning an A district grade is a milestone," Superintendent Van Ayres said in a July 1 statement marking that achievement.
Free field trips for PreK through eighth grade
Starting this school year, every HCPS student in PreK through eighth grade will get a grade-level field trip at no cost to families or schools. The school board approved the Referendum-funded Millage Field Trip Program at its Tuesday, June 2, meeting, using dollars from the community-approved millage referendum to cover the tab.
The district said the trips connect classroom lessons to real-world experiences. A full list of grade-level destinations is available at hillsboroughschools.org.
Less screen time in K–2 classrooms
Students in kindergarten through second grade will no longer use i-Ready, Amira, or Imagine Learning during daily classroom instruction. Instead, the district said students will spend more time reading printed books, writing, discussing ideas, and working through hands-on activities.
"These decisions were made with students' best interests in mind and are based on growing research that supports more authentic learning experiences for young children," the district stated in its July 15 announcement. HCPS published a separate Screen Time Guidance document with additional details for parents.
82 semester exams eliminated
Middle and high school students will sit for 82 fewer semester exams starting this school year. HCPS described the cut exams as redundant, noting the change builds on earlier efforts to remove unnecessary assessments at the elementary level. Students will still take progress-monitoring assessments, but the district said the reduction gives teachers more instructional time.
The district credited teacher feedback for driving the decision. A list of affected secondary courses is posted on the HCPS website.
What it means locally
HCPS serves more than 218,000 students across more than 233 schools. For families in Land O' Lakes, Lutz, and Odessa, the changes mean fewer out-of-pocket costs for field trips, a shift in how early readers learn at neighborhood elementary schools, and lighter testing loads for local middle and high schoolers.
Coming up
- Saturdays through Aug. 15 — Back-to-School Health Clinics for uninsured or Medicaid-enrolled children ages 5–17. $10 per family; appointments required at www.b2shc.org.
- Monday, Aug. 11 — First day of school for HCPS students (verify at hillsboroughschools.org for confirmed date).
