role="main" class="main-container container js-quickedit-main-content" id="main-content">

Bill 123, Fighting Extreme Heat in Schools Act, 2026

Pasma, Chandra

Gélinas, France

Tabuns, Peter

West, Jamie

Current status:

First Reading Ordered for Second Reading

Please select

View bill

Status

Debates

Acts affected

Original

Bill 123 Original (PDF)

EXPLANATORY

NOTE

The

Bill amends the Education Act to require school

boards to take certain steps with respect to fighting extreme heat levels in

school settings. One of the requirements is for boards to develop a heat mitigation strategy for each school, in consultation

with the applicable Joint Health and Safety Committees. The Bill requires the

Minister of Education to review the boards’ heat mitigation strategies at least

once every three years and publish reports with respect to the reviews.

Bill 123 2026

Act to amend the Education Act to provide for a maximum indoor temperature and

other measures to fight extreme heat

Preamble

Ontario

is experiencing increasingly frequent and intense heat events during the school

year, driven by the accelerating impacts of climate change. Many school

buildings across the province are not equipped to handle extreme temperatures,

putting students, teachers and education workers at risk. High indoor

temperatures — often exceeding 30° Celsius — are becoming more and more common,

with serious consequences for health, safety and learning. Children are

especially vulnerable to heat-related illness as they lack the ability to

regulate their body temperatures, and those with underlying health conditions

or special education needs are at even greater risk.

The

Canadian Environmental Law Association’s reports, “Failing the Future: Extreme

Heat in Schools” and “Failing the Future: Extreme Heat in Child ‑ Care Settings”,

released on April 24, 2025, document how indoor temperatures above 26° Celsius impair cognitive function, jeopardize

physical health and disproportionately impact communities in lower-income,

older and Indigenous school facilities. These conditions are not only unsafe;

they also significantly impair students’ ability to concentrate and educators’

ability to teach.

Students,

teachers and education workers deserve better and safer environments that

protect their health and learning conditions.

Therefore,

His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of

the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Subsection 170 (1) of the Education Act is amended

by adding the following paragraphs:

maximum

temperature in school buildings

8.0.1 ensure

that each building at each school of the board is maintained at a temperature

of no higher than 26° Celsius throughout any period in which students,

teachers, education workers or other workers are present in the building;

maximum

temperature in school bus

8.0.2 ensure

that school buses used as transportation under

section 190 are operated at a

temperature in the bus of no higher than 26° Celsius;

heat

mitigation strategy

8.0.3 develop,

in consultation with the applicable Joint Health and Safety Committees, and update

annually, a heat mitigation strategy for each school of the board that includes

the installation and maintenance of mechanical cooling systems, adaptations for

buildings and exterior spaces, options for passive cooling methods and guidance

for teachers, staff, parents and guardians on identifying signs of heat stress

and on appropriate mitigation actions for heat stress;

extreme

temperature emergency plan

8.0.4 develop,

and update from time to time, an emergency plan for actions to be taken at each

school of the board when extreme temperatures occur, including a communications

protocol and an evacuation plan for students, teachers, education workers and

other workers;

The Act is amended by adding the following section:

Extreme

Heat

Minister’s

review of heat mitigation strategies

(1) The

Minister shall review the heat mitigation strategies developed by boards under

paragraph 8.0.3 of subsection 170 (1).

Recommendations

(2) The

Minister may provide recommendations to boards with respect to their heat mitigation

strategies.

Gaps,

inequities

(3) As

part of their review, the Minister shall identify any gaps in the heat mitigation

strategies and assess any inequities among boards.

Report

(4) At

least once every three years, the Minister shall prepare a report respecting

the outcome of their review, shall publish the report on a website of the

Government of Ontario and shall lay the report before the Assembly.

Same

(5) The

report shall include, at minimum,

(

a) a

description of each board’s progress toward staying below the maximum

temperatures mentioned in paragraphs 8.0.1 and 8.0.2 of subsection 170 (1);

(

b) a

description of any gaps or inequities identified under subsection (3); and

(

c) an

assessment of each board’s capacity and each board’s needs with respect to

protecting students from extreme heat.

Commencement

This Act comes into force on the first anniversary of the day this Act receives

Royal Assent.

Short

title

The

short title of this Act is the Fighting Extreme Heat

in Schools Act, 2026 .

Date Bill stage Event Outcome Committee

May 26, 2026

First Reading

Ordered for Second Reading

May 26, 2026

First Reading

Vote

Carried

First Reading

May 26, 2026

Carried

Ordered for Second Reading