Many school districts around Monroe County shortened school days for younger students this week or canceled them altogether as the heat index hit dangerous levels, rising above 100 degrees.
It’s not the first time extreme heat has interrupted school days, and it’s likely not the last either. But this is the last school year that districts are on their own to decide when and how to respond to dangerous heat.
In September a new state law takes effect that requires schools to remove staff and students from rooms when the indoor temperatures exceeds 88 degrees and initiate a cooling protocol when temperatures reach 82 degrees.
“Such actions can include turning off overhead lights, pulling down shades or blinds, turning on fans, opening classroom doors and windows, turning off electronics, and providing water breaks,” reads a December statement from Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office.
New York State United Teachers advocated for such a policy for years.
"If you think about it, there's no other place that we go to or visit — a shopping mall, right? There's no other place where we would allow conditions to exist where we are asking people to sort of push through with a 90-degree temperature,” NYSUT President Melinda Person told WXXI News.
This year and last, heat waves hit at the same time as Regents exams. Person said it exposes inequities when some schools are equipped with air-conditioned rooms, while others are not.
“Our students are impacted by heat," Person said. "It makes them tired. It makes them groggy. There are symptoms of heat exhaustion that we've seen. ... We have to think about, are these conditions really conducive to student learning?”
Heat-related illnesses can affect children more severely than adults, according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. Signs of heat illness include dizziness, fatigue, headache and weakness.
Exposure to extreme heat can also affect cognitive functioning and contribute to learning loss, according to Harvard Graduate School of Education.
“Children have a smaller body mass to surface area ratio than adults, making them more vulnerable to heat-related morbidity and mortality,” the EPA states. “Children are more likely to become dehydrated than adults because they can lose more fluid quickly.”
The statewide teachers union is working with school districts around New York state to help them prepare to meet the new state requirements by next school year, Person said.
