Establishes a maximum temperature in school buildings and indoor facilities; provides a definition of extreme heat condition days and the standard to measure room temperature.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3397--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 31, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. SKOUFIS, ADDABBO, ASHBY, BAILEY, BRISPORT, BROUK,
CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK, CHU, COMRIE, COONEY, GONZALEZ, GOUNARDES,
HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, KAVANAGH, LANZA, LIU, MANN-
ION, MARTINEZ, MARTINS, MATTERA, MAY, MAYER, MURRAY, MYRIE, PARKER,
ROLISON, RYAN, SALAZAR, SCARCELLA-SPANTON, THOMAS, WEBB, WEBER, WEIK
-- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Educa-
tion in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a maximum
temperature in school buildings and indoor facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 409-n
2 to read as follows:
3 § 409-n. Maximum temperatures in school buildings and facilities. All
4 common, union free, central, central high schools, city school districts
5 and boards of cooperative educational services shall develop a policy
6 for ensuring the health and safety of students, faculty, and other
7 employees, on extreme heat condition days. For the purpose of this
8 section, extreme heat condition days shall be defined as days when the
9 occupiable educational and support services spaces are found to be
10 eighty-two degrees or greater Fahrenheit. For the purpose of this
11 section, support services spaces shall not include kitchen areas used in
12 the preparation of food for consumption by students. For the purpose of
13 this section, room temperature shall be measured at a shaded location,
14 three feet above the floor near the center of the room. Schools shall be
15 required to take action to relieve heat-related discomfort when the
16 occupied space temperature reaches eighty-two degrees Fahrenheit. These
17 actions may include, but are not limited to, turning off the overhead
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02813-02-4
S. 3397--A 2
1 lights, pulling down shades or blinds, turning on fans, opening class-
2 room doors and windows to increase circulation, turning off unused elec-
3 tronics that produce heat, and providing water breaks. Educational and
4 support services spaces cannot be occupied if room temperature reaches
5 eighty-eight degrees Fahrenheit.
6 § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the education
7 law, as amended by section 1 of part B of chapter 54 of the laws of
8 2016, is amended to read as follows:
9 a. policies and procedures for response to emergency situations
10 including extreme heat conditions, such as those requiring evacuation,
11 sheltering, and lock-down. These policies shall include, at a minimum,
12 evacuation routes, shelter sites, and procedures for addressing medical
13 needs, transportation and emergency notification of parents and guardi-
14 ans;
15 § 3. This act shall take effect September 1, 2025.
