Right As Students Return to School, Extreme Heat Forces School Closures and Early Dismissals

Extreme heat is the deadliest climate hazard, and students, teachers and school staff are directly in harm’s way.

Extreme heat claims more lives annually than hurricanes, floods, and wildfires combined

Washington, DC – As students across the country experience their first few weeks of school, extreme heat is forcing schools in several states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, to cancel classes or send kids home early. Extreme heat is known to impact students’ learning and health and safety, particularly for low-income students and students of color. On top of this summer’s record-breaking temperatures, kids have been shut indoors due to a severe wildfire season that has pushed air quality to unhealthy levels. Now, at the beginning of back-to-school season, kids are once again left dealing with the dangerous impacts of human-caused climate change. 

Climate Power Senior Advisor Mia Logan issued the following statement: “As schools face more days with extreme heat and higher temperatures stretch long into the fall, the school year is being cut short as students and teachers swelter in classrooms. Instead of helping their children get acclimated for the new school year, parents are now focused on finding child care as schools cancel classes or close early. Back-to-school should be a time of excitement, not a health hazard.” 

Extreme heat is putting students and teachers at risk: 

• 41% of schools lack adequate HVAC systems, leaving kids sweltering in classrooms. An estimated 13,700 public schools across the US need $40 billion in infrastructure spending to retrofit air conditioning that is otherwise threatening student safety and learning.
• A new analysis from NPR and Boston University shows that on average between 2018 and 2025, 9,000 deaths per year in the country were impacted by extreme heat – a significantly higher number than the official CDC count. 
• When temperatures hit 90°F, absentee rates spike by 16% and can lower student test scores by nearly 11%. Students—particularly those from Black, Latino, and under-resourced communities—are more likely to suffer from learning loss due to heat exposure compared to white and affluent peers.
• Children and teens are more vulnerable than adults to heat-related illnesses, and as we head into college football season, heat-related illnesses are a leading cause of death or disability among high school and college athletes. Additionally, many schools in the U.S. are canceling outdoor recess as extreme heat increasingly extends into the school year.
• From 2014 to 2023, back-to-school cooling demand increased by about 34% due to human-caused climate change.