Extreme heat is a growing problem for California’s schools. Classroom and schoolyard temperatures can reach unhealthy levels and prevent students from learning, playing and thriving on hot days — especially in certain school districts, as illustrated in a heat mapping tool created by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI) and the Public Health Alliance of Southern California. To present a simple starting point for policymakers and the public to understand the problem and potential solutions, researchers at LCI put together a resource kit that includes accessible fact sheets and infographics. In addition, the kit highlights five recommended actions for the state:

1. Collect data to track how schools experience extreme heat and the status of cooling interventions to understand needs.
2. Establish a statewide indoor temperature limit for schools based on children’s risk and effects on learning.
3. Mitigate heat exposure in schoolyards through evidence-based engineered and nature-based solutions.
4. Manage heat exposure in schools through informed behavioral interventions.
5. Identify funding gaps and inconsistencies that should be addressed for effective, targeted heat mitigation.

Read LCI’s policy brief about how extreme heat affects students, and find related research on the center’s Heat Equity page.