Bill 123 explained in plain English
Fighting Extreme Heat in Schools Act, 2026
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill would amend the Education Act to establish a maximum indoor temperature of 26 degrees Celsius in schools and school buses, require heat mitigation strategies and emergency plans, and mandate the Minister of Education to review these strategies.
Bill 123, the Fighting Extreme Heat in Schools Act, 2026, proposes to amend the Education Act to address high indoor temperatures in Ontario schools. It aims to ensure that school buildings and school buses maintain a maximum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius when students, teachers, and other workers are present. The bill also requires school boards to develop and annually update heat mitigation strategies in consultation with Joint Health and Safety Committees, which may include installing cooling systems and adapting buildings. Additionally, school boards would need to create emergency plans for extreme heat events. The Minister of Education would be responsible for reviewing these strategies at least every three years, identifying gaps and inequities, and publishing reports on the reviews. The bill states that Ontario is experiencing more frequent and intense heat events, which can pose risks to the health, safety, and learning of students and staff, particularly children who are more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses.
- Amends the Education Act.
- Requires school boards to ensure school buildings are maintained at a temperature of no higher than 26 degrees Celsius when students, teachers, education workers, or other workers are present.
- Requires school boards to ensure school buses are operated at a temperature of no higher than 26 degrees Celsius.
- Requires school boards to develop and annually update a heat mitigation strategy for each school, including mechanical cooling systems, building adaptations, passive cooling methods, and guidance on identifying and mitigating heat stress.
- Requires school boards to develop and update an emergency plan for extreme temperatures, including communication protocols and evacuation plans.
- Requires the Minister of Education to review school boards' heat mitigation strategies.
- Requires the Minister of Education to identify gaps and inequities in heat mitigation strategies during their review.
- Requires the Minister of Education to prepare and publish a report at least every three years on the review of heat mitigation strategies, including progress on temperature limits, identified gaps and inequities, and the capacity and needs of boards to protect students from extreme heat.
- Requires the Minister of Education to lay the report before the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
- School boards in Ontario
- Students in Ontario schools
- Teachers in Ontario schools
- Education workers in Ontario schools
- Other workers in Ontario schools
- The Minister of Education
- Joint Health and Safety Committees in Ontario schools
- Parents and guardians in Ontario
- School boards have a duty to ensure school buildings and school buses do not exceed 26 degrees Celsius.
- School boards have a duty to develop and update heat mitigation strategies and emergency plans.
- Joint Health and Safety Committees have a role in consulting on heat mitigation strategies.
- The Minister of Education has a duty to review heat mitigation strategies and report on findings.
- Students, teachers, education workers, and other workers have a right to be in school buildings and school buses maintained at or below 26 degrees Celsius.
- This Act comes into force on the first anniversary of the day the Act receives Royal Assent.
- School boards may incur costs related to installing and maintaining mechanical cooling systems, adapting buildings and exterior spaces, and implementing passive cooling methods as part of their heat mitigation strategies.
- The bill does not specify penalties for non-compliance.
- The bill does not specify what happens if a school board fails to meet the maximum temperature requirements or develop the required strategies and plans.
- The bill does not detail the specific powers of the Minister of Education to enforce recommendations or address identified gaps and inequities.
- The bill does not define what constitutes 'extreme temperatures' for the emergency plan.
- The bill does not specify what happens if the Minister of Education's recommendations to boards are not followed.
Adds new requirements for school boards regarding indoor temperatures, heat mitigation strategies, and emergency plans.
Source: Section 1
Adds a new section outlining the Minister of Education's responsibilities for reviewing heat mitigation strategies.
Source: Section 2
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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