State OKs Half Days For Schools As MA Heat Wave Enters 4th Day

MASSACHUSETTS — Schools in Massachusetts can hold half days at buildings without air conditioning during the current heat wave, according to a memo Associate Education Commissioner Helene Bettencourt sent to superintendents last week.

Districts will still have to meet the target of 170 school days for the current school year. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is not allowing schools to switch to remote learning models used throughout much of the coronavirus pandemic to reach the 850 learning hours required for elementary students and 935 hours in secondary schools.

"Districts and schools cannot shift all students to remote learning on these days and have those days and hours count" toward state-mandated minimums, Bettencourt wrote.

If schools are in jeopardy of not meeting the learning hours minimums, "districts should cancel school in the event of a heat day and plan to extend their school year by one day to make up the day and the hours," Bettencourt wrote.

A heat wave is a period where temperatures reach 90 for three or more consecutive days. Tuesday is the fourth straight days when temperatures have been above 90 in most parts of Massachusetts. The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for Boston, MetroWest, the Merrimack Valley, non-coastal areas of southeastern Massachusetts and the Connecticut River Valley in western Massachusetts until 8 p.m. Tuesday.

A cold front from Canada should bring cooler, more temperatures when it moves into the region Wednesday.