California bill could reshape how schools respond to heat

Topline:

Some SoCal schools are keeping students indoors during recess and have rescheduled games during this latest heatwave, but a bill on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk would require all districts to create a plan to change on-campus activities like physical education during extreme weather.

Why it matters: Students can have a harder time learning in hotter temperatures and risk life-threatening injuries playing and practicing in extreme heat.

The backstory: State Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger) authored Senate Bill 1248 after a Lake Elsinore elementary school student died running in PE on a day when temperatures exceeded triple digits.

“There's some schools that have some guidelines in place. There's others that don't,” Hurtado said. “There needs to be consistency throughout because this is a real issue. Climate change is real.”

If signed into law, schools would have to implement the new guidelines by January 2026.

New rules for high school sports: California schools must now monitor the heat, adjust and even cancel athletic practices and games, according to new policies mandated by state law .

Multiple solutions for cooling students: Many campuses are covered with heat-radiating blacktop and lack adequate green space. Providing shade is a key strategy to cooling students, but school districts often struggle to fund repairs and construction .

“We all know that schools are already cash strapped to provide the resources they need for teaching and learning,” said Kelly Turner, who leads the Center for Heat Resilient Communities based at UCLA. “The fact that our schools are not climate ready is going to be a huge cost that we're going to have to contend with as a state.”

Go deeper:

• After a child’s death, California weighs rules for phys ed during extreme weather
• New high school sports rules mandate more breaks, water, cancellations in heat
• With kids back to school, big concerns about how heat affects learning are also back