With global warming on the rise and southern California temperatures increasing as summer approaches, young people are realizing the harmful side effects of heat. While students in cold weather get snow days off, other students facing extremely hot weather receive no such benefits. For this reason, the only just solution to this unfairness toward schools in states with extreme heat is to exempt student in areas with intense heat from attending classes on especially hot days. Considering possible health risks of heat strokes and dehydration, the lethargy students often experience when in extreme heat and the fact that many schools do not have air conditioning creates a potentially dangerous environment when temperatures rise. This new system would effectively become the equivalent to a snow days system. With an increasingly warm climate due to global warming, this issue will only become more relevant and more important ensuring the safety and happiness of students and teachers alike.

As temperatures frequently reach the high 90s, many residents of California have had their fair share of the dangers of exposure to dangerous heat firsthand. According to the Center for Disease and Control, more people die each year in the U.S. due to heat stroke than any other weather-related event. This situation is entirely avoidable, but students who are busy and stressed might forget to take care of and protect themselves from the dangers of heat. Additionally, while water is the best way to ensure protection against the hot atmosphere, some teachers do not permit students to bring water bottles into their class.

Even if heat levels are not life threatening, many people find themselves unable to maintain energy and focus when hot weather strikes, making school extremely difficult. Rather than being forced to go to school on days during which they will struggle to learn, students should receive days off and take the same opportunities to work from the comfort of their homes. In snowy areas, students are not expected to go out in the unbearable cold, and unbearable heat is no different.

“The have a rule if it is over 105 degrees students are not allowed to practice their sport, so that rule should be applied to regular schooling as well,” said sophomore Josh Franklin.

Furthermore, with some schools unable to provide air-conditioning for students, requiring them to sit in classrooms during extremely hot days is unhealthy and unfair. In fact, a thorough understanding of an assignment is almost impossible when the temperature exceeds 80 degrees. Many families and students in Newport, Calif. have been arguing in favor of heat days since 2014, seeing the system as an easier, more feasible option than providing air conditioning for all 26 schools in the district, which would cost $40 million.

Keeping these factors in mind, the only solution to protect students from high temperature is the implementation of “heat days” off. Seeing as how this technique has benefited students in snowy regions, the time has come for kids in hot states to experience the same advances. After all, triple-digit temperatures lead to single-digit test scores. •