Back-to-School: A Hot Topic

Over the last several weeks, schools across the nation opened their doors for a new academic year. For many kids, that means it’s time to break out a fresh set of #2 pencils or a new pack of crayons, their sharp, unscathed tips beckoning to be used for still-to-be imagined stories.

But for kids in schools without air conditioning, #BacktoSchool can mean facing uncomfortable and unhealthily hot classrooms. That can not only zap energy from otherwise eager students and their teachers, but a body of research shows that extreme heat can impair cognition and affect performance. What is normally an exciting time of new beginnings can become a slog to endure, and in the worst cases, a dangerous health risk or even death. For a new @NPR story on how schools without air conditioning are coping with steamy summer weather, education reporter Sequoia Carrillo recently interviewed me about our 2020 report on the condition of school facilities. That US Government Accountability Office report found that an estimated 40+ percent of US school districts needed to update or replace HVAC systems in at least half of their schools. The report was based on a nationally-representative survey as well as site visits to 55 #schools in 16 districts. While many schools without air conditioning turn to open windows and fans for relief, this is not always possible, and not always effective in keeping buildings sufficiently cool. One district we spoke with had a policy to consider early dismissal whenever temperature in the majority of classrooms was 85 degrees or higher, or when the outside heat index reached 100 degrees by 10:30 a.m. Just last week, in fact, temperatures reached or exceeded 90 degrees in 6 Boston public schools. As we noted in the report, if not addressed, HVAC issues can result in both educational problems (such as lost educational time due to school closings), as well as health and safety problems (including mold and air quality issues) putting medically vulnerable students, such as those with asthma, at risk of respiratory and other health issues. Other media outlets citing @USGAO’s 2020 findings about school air quality issues in news coverage this past week include Scientific American,? USA Today, The Associated Press, The Hill, and The New York Times, which published two pieces, one covering the heat wave aspect and another exploring the connection between cleaner air and disease transmission, including reduced incidence of COVID. Interested in learning more about GAO’s wide body of K-12 work? You can read about some of our recent work in a new post on GAO’s Watchblog. The post highlights recent GAO reports about other challenges facing K-12 schools, including teacher shortages, disparities in school dress codes, and whether students have equitable access to federally-funded services such as tutoring or English language service in private schools.

And stay tuned for more new work this Fall, including #IDEA Child Find for infants and toddlers, standardized testing practices in #DODEA schools, and the state of parent and family engagement in Title I schools.