Excessive temperatures present significant barriers to student academic achievement in Pennsylvania. My legislation will amend the Public School Code to require schools to have installed functioning AC in each area where students gather for educational purposes by the start of the 2028-2029 school year. For example, this would require AC to be installed in classrooms, cafeterias, gymnasiums, and libraries, among other locations. If a school fails to meet this deadline, it would be required to submit a plan to the Pennsylvania Department of Education explaining the actions it will take to come into compliance as soon as possible. Further, the school would be required to implement and annually update a temperature control plan to ensure acceptable indoor temperatures until AC is installed in each student area.
 
2024 was the hottest year recorded in modern history, and these increased temperatures have negative effects on our students’ education. In August, more than 60 schools in Philadelphia issued early dismissals due to having inadequate cooling systems to mitigate the effects of the hot temperatures. Early dismissals due to a lack of air conditioning (AC) cause students to lose hours or days of instruction that they need to maintain academic growth. For example, research shows that students who attend classrooms lacking AC are more likely to fail exams, be absent from school, or receive disciplinary referrals that have been found to be driven entirely by the lack of AC. Sending students home on these days is not an acceptable solution, as it results in lost hours of instructional time and further exacerbates academic gaps. For these reasons, AC in all classrooms is needed to ensure a high-quality education for all students.
 
Please consider co-sponsoring this legislation to remove barriers to student academic achievement by requiring functioning AC in all Pennsylvania schools.