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Addressing extreme heat in schools
A new bill approved by the New York State Legislature would send students home if the classroom exceeds 88 degrees. FOX 5 NY's Jodi Goldberg looks at how it would work.
NEW YORK - A new bill recently approved by the New York State Legislature would set maximum temperature levels in schools and in extreme cases require students and staff to stay home if air conditioning is not available.
"Whether it's really cold conditions or really hot conditions, they're not able to focus on the important things, which is schoolwork," principal Stephen Toto of Silas Wood Sixth Grade Center said.
According to coolingcrisis.org, close to 14,000 public schools nationwide that didn’t have air conditioning in 1970 will need to install HVAC systems by 2025.
While the majority of classrooms in the South Huntington School District are already air-conditioned, superintendent Dr. Vito D’Elia has his concerns.
"We could be sending them home to a place where conditions aren't better," he said.
D’Elia says districts in New York have fewer days to spare than ever before as more religious holidays are on the calendar.
State law currently imposes a minimum classroom temperature of 65 degrees, but there are no legal limits for maximum temperatures.
If it hits 82 degrees, the bill would encourage schools to turn off overhead lights and open classroom doors and windows.
At 88 degrees, students and staff would have to move to another space.
The governor, for her part, says she’ll review the legislation if a bill passes both houses of the legislature.