Virtual Policy Forum: Protecting Student Health and Learning with Heat-Resilient Schools

On December 12, UndauntedK12, Ten Strands, and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation (LCI) hosted a Policy Forum for Heat Resilient Schools.

Extreme heat is a growing problem for California’s schools. Classroom and school yard temperatures can reach unhealthy levels and prevent students from learning, playing, and thriving on hot days. This is especially a problem in certain school districts, as illustrated in a heat mapping tool created by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California and LCI. Dr. Kelly Turner presented on her research, policy brief, and factsheets that detail solutions for protecting Californians with heat-resilient schools.

Meanwhile, new federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is available to help schools adapt to extreme heat. Sara Ross from UndauntedK12 shared about how school districts can leverage these uncapped funds to bring in millions of dollars for ground source heat pump HVAC systems and microgrid systems (solar + storage). Both of these options are critical components of extreme heat adaptation in schools while ensuring schools can mitigate the root cause by decarbonizing their infrastructure.

Finally, Jonathan Klein from UndauntedK12 shared other ideas that legislators, legislative staff, and agency leaders should consider to adapt to and mitigate extreme heat at schools. Andra Yeghoian from Ten Strands will be moderating this exciting conversation. Watch the policy forum here.