Hundreds of thousands of public school students headed back to school Monday morning.

Seminole and Sumter counties have already started their school years.

Now it’s time for students in Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola and Volusia counties to return.

Brevard County

Along the coast, nearly 72,000 students are heading back to school in Brevard.

The district has implemented a number of changes this year, including a new security system and convenient app for parents.

The free app works on either iPhone or Android systems. Parents can subscribe to a specific school where they will receive news updates, alerts and even the day’s lunch menu.

The security system is aimed at keeping sexual predators out of schools. Both volunteers and visitors will have to have state-issued identification, which will be swiped for a quick criminal background check.

Flagler County

Each school in Flagler has created a flagship program initiative.

The programs are designed to prepare all students for real careers.

For example, Bunnell Elementary's flagship program is Green Technologies.

Lake County

School start and end times have been standardized this year.

Also, there are new principals at several schools, including Sorrento and Tavares Elementary.

Marion County

Students at 8 Marion schools returned to new principals.

Oakcrest and Reddick-Collier Elementary schools now require school uniforms.

Students can now also report cyberbullying to school authorities.

Orange County

Bus drivers in Orange, which is the 10th largest school district in the U.S., got an early start Monday.

The school district has 903 buses that travel an average of more than 93,000 each year.

This year, the district has approximately 5,000 more students enrolled for more than 192,000 in all.

The county has 22,000 employees, which is the second largest behind Disney.

Students will also return to new renovations at 11 elementary schools.

Osceola County

At Osceola County Schools, parents will have a new tool to track your child's performance.

Beginning Sept. 1, the district will launch the FOCUS Parent Portal.

It's an online tool to track grades, attendance and other performance.

Volusia County

Farther north in Volusia County, there's also a bit of enthusiasm not seen in a few years.

County school officials said around 250 new students are expected. Although it’s not a large number, the back-to-back increase would put a stop to the steady slide over the past few years.

Dozens of faculty, staff and students from nearby Bethune-Cookman University lined the sidewalk in front of Turie T. Small Elementary as part of the “Million Father March.”

It's a nationwide effort to show kids the importance of having dads, uncles, grandfathers and other men in their lives.

Last year, B-CU students took part and also spent the school year mentoring kids as well.

B-CU is also playing a bigger role for older kids this year in the county.

High school students at Mainland High will have the opportunity to take college-credit courses on the Bethune-Cookman campus as part of a pilot program, which the university and school district hopes to expand to other schools in years to come.

Atlantic High students can take courses on their own campus with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Daytona State College also offers similar dual-enrollment programs in Flagler and Volusia schools.

Meanwhile, Stetson University has partnered with Westside Elementary School to support gender-specific fifth grade classes, which has worked successfully at Woodward Avenue Elementary for the past decade.