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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-02-20</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Wallis</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:Name>Wallis</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title> An act to amend Section 35179.8 of the Education Code, relating to interscholastic athletic programs. </ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>interscholastic athletic programs</ns0:RelatingClause>
<ns0:GeneralSubject>
<ns0:Subject>California Interscholastic Federation: pupil health: heat illness: guidelines.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>Existing law describes the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) as a voluntary organization that consists of school and school-related personnel with responsibility for administering interscholastic athletic activities in secondary schools, and sets forth the Legislature’s intent regarding the CIF’s implementation of certain policies. Existing law requires the CIF, in consultation with the State Department of Education, to develop guidelines, procedures, and safety standards for the prevention and management of exertional heat illness. Pursuant to that requirement, the CIF has established Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) thresholds for outdoor practices and contests, including, for among other regions, Region Category 3 where the CIF prohibits outdoor activities at WBGT readings exceeding 92 degrees Fahrenheit.</html:p>
<html:p>This bill would require, on
or before July 1, 2027, the CIF to revise those guidelines for schools located in extreme desert climates within Region Category 3 to (1) instead permit outdoor practices and contests up to a WBGT of 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit if additional safety measures are implemented and (2) define eligibility for those schools based on objective climatic data, as provided. The bill would authorize the threshold in the guidelines for those schools to be raised above a WBGT of 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit based on updated peer-reviewed research, but would prohibit the threshold from being lowered below a WBGT of 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit.</html:p>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:</html:p>
<html:p>
(a)
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The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has established regional categories based on climate to guide Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) thresholds for outdoor practices and contests, with Category 3 regions, including extreme desert areas, currently prohibiting outdoor activities at WBGT readings of 92.1 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
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<html:p>
(b)
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In acclimatized desert regions, where pupils and communities routinely experience prolonged high temperatures, the current 92.1 degrees Fahrenheit threshold is overly restrictive and forces practices into late evening hours.
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<html:p>
(c)
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Late-evening practices disrupt family time, create logistical challenges for transportation and supervision, exhaust pupil-athletes, and contribute to decreased participation in youth sports at a critical time when maintaining engagement in physical activity is essential for health and well-being.
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<html:p>
(d)
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Establishing a specialized regional category for extreme desert climates that would allow outdoor practices with enhanced safety protocols when the WBGT is up to 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit will better balance pupil health protections with practical considerations while remaining grounded in evidence-based heat illness prevention standards.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
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Section 35179.8 of the
<ns0:DocName>Education Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:Num>35179.8.</ns0:Num>
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(a)
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In order to better protect student athletes participating in athletics, no later than July 1, 2024, the California Interscholastic Federation, in consultation with the department, shall develop guidelines, procedures, and safety standards for the prevention and management of exertional heat illness.
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<html:p>
(b)
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Guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall identify the environmental conditions at which a school shall limit and prohibit practice and play. These guidelines shall include information regarding the accurate measurement of environmental heat
stress at the site of the athletic activity, including the use of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) to determine ambient temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation from the sun, including sun angle and cloud cover.
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(c)
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Guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (a) shall identify the environmental conditions at which a school shall have a method to institute whole-body cooling to treat a student athlete with exertional heat illness, especially heat stroke, that is easily accessible at all practice and contest venues.
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<html:p>
(d)
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The California Interscholastic Federation shall, on or
before July 1, 2027, revise the guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (a) for schools located in extreme desert climates within Region Category 3, characterized by prolonged periods of high ambient temperatures and acclimatized populations, consistent with all of the following:
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<html:p>
(1)
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The guidelines shall permit outdoor practices and contests for those schools up to a WBGT of 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit if additional safety measures are implemented. The additional safety measures shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
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<html:p>
(A)
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Mandatory hydration breaks every 15 minutes.
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<html:p>
(B)
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Reduced practice intensity and duration.
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<html:p>
(C)
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Onsite monitoring by trained personnel for signs of heat illness.
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<html:p>
(D)
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Enhanced heat acclimatization protocols.
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<html:p>
(E)
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Availability of shaded rest areas and cooling measures.
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(2)
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The guidelines shall define eligibility for those schools based on objective climatic data, such as average summer WBGT readings, historical temperature patterns, or other scientifically validated criteria.
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(3)
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The threshold in the guidelines for those schools may be raised above a WBGT of 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit based on updated peer-reviewed research, but it shall not be lowered below a WBGT of 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
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