California Universities Launch $2.26M Multi-Campus Heat Exposure Study in Public Schools

Increasingly hot classrooms and outdoor environments have sparked urgent research and advocacy to address heat exposure's effects on health, safety, and performance, particularly among vulnerable populations such as students and outdoor workers. In Connecticut, teachers and parents at Cooperative Arts and Humanities Magnet School have demanded clear temperature guidelines after classrooms reached unsafe temperatures, with district officials working on HVAC repairs and longer-term solutions. Parallel initiatives include the UCLA Heat Lab, which conducts interdisciplinary research on thermal inequality and its impact on vulnerable communities, and OSHA Training Services’ new online heat illness prevention courses designed to enhance workplace safety in high-risk industries. Additionally, San Diego State University students are comparing how communities in the U.S.-Mexico border region and Rio de Janeiro cope with extreme heat, emphasizing socioeconomic factors and access to cooling. In California, a $2.26 million multi-campus research project is assessing heat exposure effects on elementary school children and developing mitigation strategies, motivated by rising heat stress and the insufficiency of current heat literacy among educators and families. Together, these efforts highlight a growing recognition of extreme heat as a public health challenge requiring interdisciplinary research, policy intervention, and community engagement.