The weather is finally heating up, but these toasty temperatures can leave your kids sweating in school. Hundreds of classrooms across Connecticut still don’t have air conditioning.

A bill with bipartisan support could fix that, by changing the way the state funds air quality projects in schools.

Supporters said it’s not just about comfort; it’s about students’ health.

Inside a 60-year-old classroom at North Stratfield Elementary in Fairfield, art teacher Omayra Rivera-Filardi is trying to stay cool.

The school is one of five in Fairfield that lacks air conditioning.

Rivera-Filardi’s room has two dozen students – but only one fan and one window.

“Even if you open that one window, when you have 24 students, especially the older kids, we're hot,” she said. “You're hot and you’re working, and you have paint and they’re all sticky, and the little guys are like, ‘Ahhh, I’m hot!’”

That will change this fall, when a new HVAC system will pump out cold, clean air conditioning. Two other Fairfield schools are also installing air conditioning systems.

“Huge difference in being able to provide a nice, comfortable environment for teaching and learning,” said Fairfield school superintendent Michael Testani.

This air conditioning project took years to finally get off the ground. It cost tens of millions of dollars, and getting state funding was a major challenge.

“It’s brutal,” Testani said. “We’ve been lucky the last several years not to have too many snow days to put us deep into June.”

But education leaders think a proposal at the state Capitol could greatly speed-up the process. If it passes, the state would fund air quality work the same way as other school construction projects.

“Thinking about indoor air quality and HVAC in the same way that we think about a boiler or a roof, I think, is a positive transition for all of our school communities,” said state Rep. Jennifer Leeper (D-Fairfield).

Right now, many schools wait can years because air quality projects have to win a competitive grant.

The bill has support from Democrats and Republicans.

“We're very grateful for the work that's been done in Fairfield, but there were many other schools that were still waiting,” said state Sen. Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield).

The push isn’t just about comfort. Supporters said it’s also about students’ health.

“The pandemic brought to light that this more than just cooling,” Testani said. “It’s about circulating fresh air.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, schools are now required to do heating and air conditioning inspections every five years. But some haven’t done them yet because of a lack of money.

Over the past two years, the state has awarded $178 million to 60 school systems, according to the Connecticut Education Association.

The funding change would cost the state more money because more projects would be funded, but just how much more is unclear, according to a nonpartisan fiscal analysis. The money would come from state bonds – just like the competitive grants do now – which are paid back over several decades.

The school air quality bill is awaiting action in the Connecticut House of Representatives. The General Assembly session ends on June 4.

Meantime, Rivera-Filardi can finally toss out the fan when school lets out in 31 days.

“I’m very, very grateful that air conditioner is coming in,” she said.