Halloween Hangover? Legislation Would Keep Kids Out Of School The Next Day

Students would get a day off from school to come down from their Halloween sugar highs, under a bill filed Monday by Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami.

The proposal (SB 1462) says that each school district would designate the day after Halloween as a school holiday, unless Halloween lands on a Friday or a Saturday.

"As a parent, I totally get it," Taddeo said in an email.

Taddeo filed the bill after requests from students and parents in her district, but she said there were similar requests across the state. "It went viral," she said.

Student-driven Change.org petition drives have drawn support from across Florida for a holiday.

Nearly 118,000 people had signed a petition to establish the holiday in Broward County. In Miami-Dade County, more than 184,000 had signed petitions. A pair of Change.org petitions in Palm Beach County had more than 20,000 signatures. Another 20,000 signatures had been posted for Polk County students to get the day off. In Pasco County, more than 10,000 had signed an online petition. Orange County was over 10,000 signatures, and Lake County had drawn more than 5,000 signatures.

The bill is filed for consideration during the legislative session that starts Jan. 14.

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