This week is set to be one of the hottest of the year so far with temperatures expected to soar near 100 degrees throughout New York state. Heat leaves some school districts with limited options. So in an effort to keep everyone safe, schools across the state are opting for half-days this week.

One school official discussed the effort to combat extreme heat in schools. 

“Because of the heat, we’ve decided on half-days Tuesday, Thursday and Friday," said Rob DiFlorio, chief of operations at the Syracuse City School District. 

Half-days are going to be a theme across schools in New York this week as temperatures rise. 

“I can't remember the amount of this number of days in a row that were this warm in Central New York," DiFlorio said. "It's just an idea that weather is changing, and we have to adjust to those times.”

There are school buildings across New York that don’t have air-conditioning. According to recent data from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, roughly 36,000 schools across the country need to replace or update their heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

School officials in New York believe half-days will keep students out of the sun when it’s hottest.

“We believe this will be very beneficial to our students," he said. "It's very difficult for them to learn in an environment where the temperatures are over 90 degrees, and we can't cool all of our buildings.”

This issue is one state Sen. James Skoufis has been outspoken about, lauding legislation that would establish a maximum temperature in school buildings of 88 degrees. 

“That's where we say children cannot be in this space," Skoufis said. "Adults cannot be in this space any longer. Not only is it not conducive to learning, it starts becoming dangerous.”

A study by Harvard Kennedy School tracked 10 million students who took the PSAT from 2001-2014. It found productivity in schools without air-conditioning decreased by 1% every time you raise the temperature by a degree. 

“We want our kids to be doing better," DiFlorio said. "We want our teachers to be teaching at the highest level. We want safe conditions. Then we need this bill to be signed into law.”

Skoufis acknowledged he’s gotten push back from several school administrations because of the cost of air-conditioning.

“It’s probably more important that we're funded by putting air-conditioning in our school buildings," DiFlorio said. "That would be the greatest benefit to our all of our students. That way we can have school and kids can be comfortable. They can come to school and learn every day.”

The bill has been passed in the Senate and Assembly, but hasn’t been signed into law.