What's happening
This bill requires New York schools to create policies for managing extreme heat, including plans to remove students and staff when temperatures reach 88°F.
Why it matters
Mandates specific, actionable steps for heat relief. Schools are now explicitly required to take measures (like turning off lights, using fans, providing water breaks) as soon as indoor temperatures reach 82°F, which could lead to more consistent and immediate responses to rising temperatures.
Introduces a removal threshold. The bill sets a clear standard—students and staff must be removed from affected indoor spaces when temperatures hit 88°F “where practicable,” potentially reducing health risks from heat exposure and clarifying obligations for school administrators.
Refines emergency planning. By removing “extreme heat conditions” from general emergency response planning and placing it under a specialized policy, the bill distinguishes heat-related protocols from other emergencies, which may lead to more focused and tailored heat management strategies in schools.
Prioritizes health and safety during climate change. The legislation is a response to increasing extreme heat events, signaling that schools must adapt facilities and procedures to protect vulnerable populations (children, staff) as climate patterns shift.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Limit School Building Heat
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Signed chap.25
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to assembly
- Passed senateVote 57–4
- 3rd reading cal.49
- Substituted for S775
- Referred to rules
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.44
- Rules report cal.44
- Reported
Show 2 earlier actions
- Reported referred to rules
- Referred to education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Limit Heat in Schools
Senate Floor Calendar · Sponsor James Skoufis
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
752
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. EACHUS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to policies regarding maximum temperatures in school buildings and facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 409-n of the education law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the education law relating to establishing a maximum temperature in school buildings and indoor facilities, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 3397-A and A. 9011-A, is amended to read as follows:
§ 409-n. Maximum temperatures in school buildings and facilities. All common, union free, central, central high schools, city school districts and boards of cooperative educational services shall develop a policy for ensuring the health and safety of students, faculty, and other employees, on extreme heat condition days. For the purpose of this section, extreme heat condition days shall be defined as days when the occupiable educational and support services spaces are found to be eighty-two degrees or greater Fahrenheit. For the purpose of this section, support services spaces shall not include kitchen areas used in the preparation of food for consumption by students. For the purpose of this section, room temperature shall be measured at a shaded location, three feet above the floor near the center of the room. Schools shall be required to take action to relieve heat-related discomfort when the occupied space temperature reaches eighty-two degrees Fahrenheit. These actions may include, but are not limited to, turning off the overhead lights, pulling down shades or blinds, turning on fans, opening classroom doors and windows to increase circulation, turning off unused electronics that produce heat, and providing water breaks. [Educational] Such policy shall include a plan to remove students and staff from occu-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02930-01-5
pied spaces where practicable when educational and support services spaces [cannot be occupied if room temperature reaches] reach eightyeight degrees Fahrenheit.
§ 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the education law, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the education law relating to establishing a maximum temperature in school buildings and indoor facilities, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 3397-A and A. 9011-A, is amended to read as follows:
a. policies and procedures for response to emergency situations [including extreme heat conditions], such as those requiring evacuation, sheltering, and lock-down. These policies shall include, at a minimum, evacuation routes, shelter sites, and procedures for addressing medical needs, transportation and emergency notification of parents and guardians;
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the education law relating to establishing a maximum temperature in school buildings and indoor facilities, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 3397-A and A. 9011-A, takes effect.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.