Chicago Public Schools canceled or relocated every outdoor athletic practice, recess period and after-school activity Thursday as the heat index across Cook County climbed as high as 105 degrees. The move came a day after the district had already implemented the same emergency protocol, marking two straight days of districtwide disruptions just two weeks into the 2026-27 school year.
The National Weather Service issued an Extreme Heat Warning for Cook County Thursday before canceling it later that morning, according to WTTW News. CPS spokesperson Macquline King told the outlet that the district has a heat action plan for situations like this, and that school leaders will take measures to ensure students are healthy, safe and comfortable this week. All outdoor athletics games were postponed, while practices were either canceled outright or shifted indoors.
Regular programming may resume Friday, September 4, pending updates from the district, per the same report. Students had only returned for the new academic year on August 24, meaning the back-to-back heat directives hit during just the second full week of regular instruction, according to Chicago Public Schools.
How CPS Keeps Kids in Class During Extreme Heat
Unlike some other Midwest districts, CPS doesn't send students home or shift to remote learning when temperatures spike. The district's classrooms have been fully air-conditioned since spring 2017, the finish line of a $135 million capital effort launched under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel that took CPS from less than half its campuses having full classroom AC in 2013 to 100% coverage, according to FOX 32 Chicago. That universal coverage is why CPS announced outdoor recess, physical education, athletics and out-of-school time activities would be canceled or held inside if possible, rather than closing schools altogether.
The district's extreme heat action plan directs principals to draw window shades, open doors and windows with fans running for air circulation, shut off non-essential lights and electronics, and move any classes sitting in direct sunlight into auditoriums or lower-level interior rooms. The approach stands in contrast to nearby districts covered in Detroit schools sending kids home early as an AC gap lingers in that district's aging buildings, and 35 Pittsburgh schools that went remote entirely as heat topped 90 degrees this week.
Aging Buildings Still Strain Under Heat Waves
Even with every classroom cooled, CPS's infrastructure isn't immune to the strain of repeated heat waves. The district's school buildings average 80 years old, and CPS spent more than $100 million between 2020 and 2024 on HVAC repairs and upgrades system-wide, according to the Center for Climate Integrity. The district's facilities team said it will work with individual schools this week to fix any air conditioning systems that encounter issues, WTTW News reported.
Climate researchers have flagged the broader trend behind these late-summer disruptions. Back-to-school air-conditioning demand for Chicago-area schools in late August and early September has increased 17% over the past 50 years as late-summer temperatures rise, according to research cited by ABC7 Chicago. Thursday's warning followed the National Weather Service's standard for Cook County, which triggers an Extreme Heat Warning when the peak heat index is projected to hit 105 degrees or higher, or when readings between 100 and 105 degrees persist for three straight days.
Heat Rules Also Bench High School Athletes
Beyond CPS's own protocol, Illinois High School Association rules add another layer of restriction for outdoor athletics statewide. Member schools must track Wet Bulb Globe Temperature, a measure that factors in ambient heat, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation, and once that reading hits 90.0 degrees, all outdoor training and competition must be canceled or postponed, according to Vandalia Radio. That threshold is part of why CPS postponed all outdoor athletics games districtwide Thursday rather than simply relocating them.
This week's back-to-back advisories aren't an isolated event for CPS. The district already activated the same indoor-relocation protocol twice over the summer, during a late-June heat wave from June 29 to July 1 and again during a mid-July heat and wildfire air quality alert on July 16. Chicago's broader emergency response network includes more than 280 public cooling facilities, including Park District fieldhouses, libraries, police stations and DFSS community service centers, which the city activated during a deadly heat wave in July that left a South Side woman as the fifth heat-related death of the season, as Hoodline previously reported.
