Directed To:
Valarie Bachelor, OUSD Board Vice President and Chair of Facilities Committee
Dr. Denise Saddler, interim Superintendent
Preston Thomas, Chief Systems and Services Officer (CSSO)
Justin Anderson, Director of Health Services/District 504 Oversight

Additionally, we request review by:
Jenine Lindsey, General Counsel
Sondra Aguilera, Chief Academic Officer
Misha Karigaca, Director, Student Support & Safety

Oakland Unified leadership,

OUSD hasn't just failed to provide our schools with an adequate learning environment, it has broken its commitment to safety and racial justice.

In the week of March 16 alone, multiple OUSD students were sent to the hospital due to extreme heat conditions inside their classrooms, on the district's watch. It is only a matter of time before another medically sensitive student or staff member falls critically ill or worse.

“The first thing my son told me today was about how a child passed out from the heat in class today and needs to be taken away to the hospital. He was very disturbed by this as he mentioned it several times before we got home.” - Diana, March 19, 2026

The district has the data and sensors to know that over 2,000 OUSD classrooms are heat and CO2 traps. Some schools, studied by OUSD in 2022-2023, experience indoor conditions that are scientifically deemed “too hot” on more than 40% of school days! This is a deep injustice, and testimonials we have gathered confirm that little to no learning is happening during the hottest hours.

We have also collected testimonials from over 40 OUSD schools, including multiple schools where their requests for heating systems to be turned off during hot days have been ignored. We believe that leaving students and educators to wilt in rooms surpassing 85 and 90 degrees directly violates multiple standards and laws:

1. Cal/OSHA: California’s Heat Illness Prevention regulation. For indoor workplaces where the temperature reaches 82 degrees Fahrenheit, employers must take steps to protect workers from heat illness. Some of the requirements include providing water, rest, cool-down areas, and training.
2. ADA and Section 504: Legal Requirements for Equitable Access to Education. For students with conditions exacerbated by heat (e.g., asthma, multiple sclerosis, POTS, certain cancers, etc.), temperature control is considered a reasonable modification to ensure "meaningful access" to education.
3. CEAR: OUSD’s Climate Emergency Action Resolution. OUSD’s formal identification in 2020 of the climate crisis as a direct threat to student health, and declaration that "climate injustice is racial injustice.”

In media coverage this week (in English y en español), OUSD leadership continues to respond by planning to address overheating in “the coming years.” Our requests over the last 12 months - by emails, in person conversations, and public comment at Facilities Committee meetings - have still been met without a single committed date for action.

Every day matters for our kids and educators. The “just wait” responses we have received send a deeply harmful message to our students and staff about the kind of protection and dignity they deserve.

We have the data, we have the protected bond funds, and there are multiple known solutions to provide immediate, incremental relief. What we lack is demonstrated commitment. Alameda Unified, a much smaller district, installed ceiling fans in 54 classrooms in one summer. Why won’t something – anything – be done this summer to protect our kids and teachers?

OUSD feeds children so they do not have to think about being hungry at school. Won't we do the same to ensure they have safe, cool places to learn? What is your plan to take action before Fall 2026 to keep our children safe?” - Sharon, OUSD Parent

OUSD continues to install filtered water systems to have safe drinking water, in the midst of the lead crisis. Now we need interim fixes for unsafe heat.

We, the undersigned OUSD families and staff, plead for the following:

1. Board direction: Protect and direct that the funding already allocated for heat mitigation be used for emergency, low-cost, interim solutions – such as UV-reflecting solar window films (clings) and shades – before the start of the 2026-27 school year. We expect VP Valarie Bachelor (D6) to agendize this resolution for the April 16 Facilities Committee meeting.

2. Superintendent action: We call on interim Superintendent Saddler to attend the April 16 Facilities Committee Meeting and share directly with the community what she will do about this health and safety emergency.

3. A plan with dates: By the April 16 meeting, we expect Preston Thomas, CSSO and Facilities Director, to present a prioritization framework, a school-by-school action plan for summer 2026, and a concrete timeline, budget, and funding sources for work needed to ensure every OUSD classroom remains at 75°F or lower.

Every day makes a difference for our kids and educators.

We are done waiting. We must cool our schools before a child pays the ultimate price for OUSD’s inaction.

(Read testimonies from across Oakland, add yours, and learn more @ cooltheschools.org)