Overview
- The NRW Schulministerium announced on Wednesday that under certain conditions Sekundarstufe II may receive shortened lessons or be dismissed early, with the measure limited until July 31.
- Schools decide locally whether to use the new options, and the ministry said there is no central tracking of how often hitzefrei is granted.
- The ministry named room-temperature guidance for decisions, using about 27°C as an orientation for permitting hitzefrei and excluding it below 25°C.
- Reporting from Austria shows regional education directors and individual schools are already exercising similar autonomy, using air‑conditioned rooms, pool visits and excursions instead of formal early release in some places.
- Teachers’ unions welcome the temporary step but warn it is not enough and are pressing for binding heat‑protection plans and major investment in school buildings to address recurring hot spells.