NYSUT President Melinda Person released the following statement in response to the Legislature passing S.3397-A (Skoufis)/A.9011-A (Eachus) to establish a maximum temperature in school buildings and indoor facilities.
“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.
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.”
NYSUT heard from more than 700 educators in the 2023-24 school year alone about unbearable classroom conditions caused by excessive heat and compiled these accounts into a report. Last month, NYSUT constructed a portable sauna to recreate these reported temperatures in the Capitol so lawmakers could experience these conditions firsthand.