Overview

Heat Policy Brief Series

California has not historically treated extreme heat as a social equity and public health crisis — a crisis that requires targeted and consistently funded action to save lives. Now, the state’s 2022 Extreme Heat Action Plan includes many important goals.

Our three policy briefs can help achieve goals in the plan and inform upcoming policy and budget decisions. The first policy brief summarizes five recommendations for the state to advance an equitable, evidence-based approach to heat mitigation and adaptation. Given that we spend most of our time at home, the second brief spotlights three recommended actions to protect Californians where we live. The third brief zeros in on actions to protect vulnerable students with heat-resilient schools.

• Protecting Californians From Deadly Heat, July 2022
• Protecting Californians With Heat-Resilient Homes, July 2022
• Protecting Californians With Heat-Resilient Schools, May 2023
• Authors: Colleen Callahan, Lauren Dunlap, Michelle Gallarza, Rae Spriggs, V. Kelly Turner

Heat-Resilient Schools Resource Kit

Following on the third and final policy brief, in October 2023, our team released a Heat-Resilient Schools Resource Kit: a set of fact sheets and infographics to help communicate the key challenges heat poses to schools, solutions that can address heat inequities, and the top areas we see for the state to take action.

• Closing The School Heat Data Gap, Fact Sheet
• Cooling Classrooms To Healthy Temperatures, Fact Sheet
• Protecting Students From Heat Outdoors, Fact Sheet
• Changing Behavior On Hot School Days, Fact Sheet
• Funding School Heat Management, Fact Sheet
• The Problem With Hot Schoolyards And Classrooms, Infographics
• Authors: V. Kelly Turner, Ruth Engel, Lauren Dunlap, associate project manager

Managing Organizations

University of California - Los Angeles

As a public research university, our mission is the creation, dissemination, preservation and application of knowledge for the betterment of our global society. UCLA combines the close-knit learning environment of a spirited public school with the endless opportunities of a world-class city. Located in beautiful Westwood, minutes from Hollywood and the downtown city center of Los Angeles, the university offers everything you need to reach your full potential.

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