Heat wave 2025: Some Long Island schools close early as real-feel temperatures rise above 100
First graders at Cordello Avenue Elementary School in Central Islip take a cooling break in one of their expanded, air-conditioned classrooms on Monday. Credit: Newsday / Drew Singh
Long Island schools closed early or took other measures to keep students cool Tuesday, as temperatures hit triple digits in some places.
In Central Islip, all students in kindergarten through eighth grade were let out early “due to the extreme heat and in the best interest of the health and safety of our students,” with dismissal times ranging from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. depending on the school, the district said on its website. The high school followed the previously established test schedule, the district said.
The Patchogue-Medford School District was dismissing elementary and middle school students early, including sixth graders, district officials said Tuesday morning. The district posted a message on its website thanking families for their cooperation “as we keep our students safe in this extreme heat.” After-school programs were canceled, the district said.
In Uniondale, schools were making sure students "remain safe, cool and hydrated," schools Superintendent Monique Darrisaw-Akil said in a message on the district website. Recess was held indoors and students and staff in non-air-conditioned rooms were able to move to air-conditioned spaces, she said.
The Babylon school district said in a message to families on Saturday that schools would give students access to air-conditioned spaces throughout each day, along with hydration breaks and modified activities, with district officials "closely monitoring" the forecast.
The heat wave was expected to continue Wednesday, with real-feel temperatures around 100 degrees predicted for most parts of Long Island.
Some schools had already scheduled half-days for the rest of the week — the final week of the school year — including certain schools in Babylon, Center Moriches, Lindenhurst and Sayville, but those half-days are unrelated to the heat, district officials said.
Air conditioning a concern
Many classrooms in schools across Long Island lack air conditioning. A heat wave "definitely impacts the work environment and the learning environment" in those classrooms, said Robert Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association. But, he said, "Schools have always had plans for hot days in June and hot days in September," including the use of misting fans and moving classes to cooler parts of the building.
A new law that takes effect Sept. 1 will require public schools to take action when classroom temperatures climb too high.
The law, signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul in December, mandates that schools take steps such as using fans and pulling down blinds when interior temperatures hit 82 degrees. When room temperatures reach 88 degrees, schools would need to move students and staff to a cooler space or send students home, under the law.
Extreme heat can have a negative impact on students' ability to learn as well as their physical and mental well-being, health experts said. Hochul said in an approval memo for the new law last year that she recognized "the urgent need to ensure our students, teachers and other school personnel are safe in the school building."
However, Vecchio said the state law also "presents new challenges," especially in areas that are lower-income or have smaller tax bases.
Adding air conditioning "can be very expensive and very complicated due to the size and age of buildings," he said. Without voter approval for massive investments in cooling systems, he said, in some schools the mandate "can lead to the loss of instructional time."
On Tuesday, Hochul acknowledged that some school districts have not approved funding for air conditioning and are seeking flexibility in enforcing the new policy. She encouraged districts to use budget surplus funds to purchase air conditioning before seeking additional funding from the state.
Newsday has reported that Long Island school districts' cash reserves rose by 12%, to nearly $3.64 billion, during the 2024-25 academic year. About $785 million of that money was classified as "unrestricted" funds that can be spent at districts’ discretion.
Speaking during a meeting with school district officials regarding another new policy banning cellphones in classrooms, Hochul told reporters, “I think this would be a good use for that [money] if they don't plan on returning it to the taxpayers. And so we'll certainly evaluate [potential state funding for air conditioning]. But given the enormity of the money we have provided to schools, hopefully they would feel it's their responsibility to ensure that the environment is safe for students.”
Newsday's Robert Brodsky contributed to this story.
Maura McDermott covers education. Since joining Newsday in 2012, she also has worked on the investigations team and covered real estate and the business of health care.
