As hot, stuffy classrooms fill with students this week, educators and parents are renewing their calls for Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the classroom heat bill into law.
In June, after NYSUT “brought the heat” to lawmakers — in the very real form of a portable sauna tent set up outside their Albany offices — they passed bill S.3397 (Skoufis)/A.9011 (Eachus) to set maximum temperatures in school buildings.
The school temperature bill, which passed the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, requires schools to implement practical measures to manage extreme heat but does not call for districts to make mandatory investments in costly HVAC systems or resort to school closures. If classrooms reach a temperature of 82 degrees or higher, districts must have a plan in place to cool temperatures, including turning off lights, pulling down shades, using fans and other methods. If a classroom’s temperature reaches 88 degrees, districts need to find an alternative learning location that is cooler for the safety of students and staff.
“Extreme heat is a real danger to our students and educators, and we applaud state legislators for witnessing, experiencing and now acknowledging the severity of its impact in our schools,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person.
Now, nearly four months later, the bill is still awaiting the Governor’s signature.
“Our children should not spend their days dreaming of ways to survive sweltering temperatures, and statewide heat standards are a vital step toward making sure our classrooms are healthy spaces where the focus can be on teaching and learning,” Person said.
Person visited three schools in the Yonkers City School district Friday to see how they are planning to contend with excessive heat when students return to classes, and over the weekend, Sen. Skoufis, co-sponsor of the bill, pressed the governor to sign the bill, explaining that heat jeopardizes students’ safety and learning.
“With students headed back to school and summer ongoing for another three weeks, now is the time to sign this important legislation,” Skoufis said. “For many years, we have protected kids and teachers from freezing classroom temperatures – we need to do the same in overheated buildings. When it’s too hot, kids can’t learn, teachers can’t teach, and safety is jeopardized. Make school cool, Governor Hochul, and please sign this bill.”