In Texas, the summer heat is no joke, especially when transporting students. With routine temperatures of 100 degrees or higher, heat indexes that can reach 105 degrees and high humidity that can make it even hotter. Triple digit temperatures are very common. But how does this extreme heat affect school transportation?
It’s not only a summer concern. Temperatures along the Texas Gulf Coast were forecast for the high 80s and low 90s the first weekend of October. Similar temperatures extended east to Florida and north to New York. Fall heat also scorched most of California, especially the Los Angeles area.
Amy Scopac, director of transportation for Temple Independent School District in Central Texas, shedded some much-needed light, on a very hot and ongoing topic.
“During periods of extreme heat, even a properly operating school bus A/C system can be challenged by the conditions we operate in,” Scopac said. “A full passenger load, direct sunlight, frequent stops and repeatedly opening the service door all introduce additional heat into the bus.”
Traditionally, school bus air-conditioning is designed to provide around 30-degree temperature differential from the outside feel, however, with the additional conditions that Scopac noted, such as repeatedly opening the service door, can make the A/C’s job quite difficult. This leaves students and bus drivers having to face extreme heat conditions, even inside the bus.
For the students, this created a problem, particularly when exiting the bus. Scopac noted how parents expressed their concerns as their students got off the bus, covered in sweat and complaining about how hot it was. While most parents understood the situation and how the A/C was doing the best it could, it still led to numerous complaints and a noticeable increase in calls, especially during the first couple weeks of school, which started Aug. 13.
On a recent School Transportation Nation podcast, STN President and Publisher Tony Corpin addressed the climbing temperatures and related conversations between Facebook posters. While many noted there is not much school districts can do, others addressed how the school year in most areas no longer starts after Labor Day, leaving children to start school in the traditionally hottest months of August and even late July. School bus drivers also expressed this concern with many noting how the A/C can only do so much, leaving them and the students in a sweltering state.
“Starting the school year in August means that our students, drivers and buses are operating during one of the hottest periods of the year in Texas,” Scopac added. “From a transportation perspective, extreme heat in August is predictable, and is simply an operating condition we have to plan for.”
Temple ISD has not been the only school district in Texas dealing with the effects of extreme heat. Jennifer Gardella, director of transportation for Rockwall ISD located east of Dallas, shared with School Transportation News how the heat has taken a toll on the district’s buses, knocking out the A/C, one bus at a time.
“I had a brand new 2026 bus out there, and the AC went down,” Gardella said. “It just can’t keep up with the heat outside.”
She noted that the mobile classroom can sometimes feel like a sauna.
According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, this past August tied the record for the hottest month ever on Earth, up 2.20 degrees above the measured baseline. Additionally, the World Meterological Organization said El Nino’s lasting impact could make 2027 even hotter.
However, Temple ISD is doing its best to ensure students, parents and bus drivers understand the effects of extreme temperatures on school transportation. As part of those efforts, the district created an infographic highlighting school bus facts and A/C systems, which it shared on Facebook.
Scopac said the response to the infographic she posted has been positive. “There was a lot of enthusiasm for having something they could share with their communities,” she explained. “It gave them a simple way to help parents understand what a school bus A/C system is actually capable of and why cooling a school bus during extreme heat is very different from cooling a passenger vehicle.”
She also emphasized the importance of helping parents and community members understand how school buses operate in extreme heat. “When people understand how these systems work, the conditions they’re operating under and their practical limitations, they can have more realistic expectations,” Scopac said.
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