Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs study-first approach on student heat-safety guidelines, asks DOE and DOH to report back
Summary
Lawmakers passed an amended bill that asks the Department of Education to study implementation needs before adopting wet-bulb-based heat-safety rules for outdoor school activities. Public health experts urged immediate adoption of data-driven guidelines.
The House Committee on Education voted to advance HB 245 with amendments that require the Department of Education (DOE) to study the costs and timeline for implementing updated heat-safety guidelines for outdoor student activities, then report back to the Legislature.
The bill would have instructed DOE to adopt evidence-based heat-safety protocols using wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) measurements, a metric public health and athletic groups recommended as the "gold standard" for heat stress. Several health experts testified in support, saying children are particularly vulnerable to heat illness and that other states and athletic associations have adopted WBGT-based protocols.
"This bill is a crucial step towards protecting our children from one of these immediate risks, extreme heat," said James McCown of the Climate Change and Health Working Group. Dr. Elizabeth Kiefer, an internist and epidemiologist on faculty at JABSOM, said children—s physiology and certain medications increase their risk and described recent out-of-state deaths linked to heat as a rationale for a data-driven approach.
DOE expressed support for the intent but asked for a study and an implementation timeline. Heidi Armstrong, deputy superintendent, said the department needs to assess costs and logistics to procure monitoring equipment, train staff and roll out guidelines across 258 schools. "We—re committed to working very closely with the Department of Health and other stakeholders to protect student health while ensuring the program's long term success and sustainability," Armstrong said.
The Department of Health and other public-health witnesses offered to help develop and pilot guidelines. Testifiers noted the Hawaii High School Athletic Association has begun integrating WBGT into its policies, which could serve as a model for statewide school guidance.
Action taken: The committee accepted DOE's recommendation that a needs assessment be completed to define equipment needs, training and costs, and it passed the bill with amendments that require coordination with DOH and a report-back to the Legislature before rule rollout.
Next steps: The committee directed DOE and public-health partners to develop a timeline and cost estimate for phased implementation and to return with a formal plan.
