Texas schools have been strongly encouraged to monitor Wet Bulb Globe Temperature during outdoor practices since 2023. This summer, that changes.
On April 12, UIL’s Medical Advisory Committee approved a shift in policy: WBGT monitoring would move from a recommendation to a mandate for all UIL member schools, effective with the 2026-2027 school year.
When The Proposed Requirements Will Go Into Effect
The measure now goes to the UIL Legislative Council in June for final approval. If passed, every school in Texas that runs outdoor athletics or marching band will be required to monitor WBGT and follow its associated protocols — not just encouraged to.
This is not a surprise. It is the logical conclusion of a policy direction UIL has been building toward for three years. The question for most athletic departments is not whether the mandate is coming. It is whether they are actually prepared to meet it.
What Has to Happen Before This Becomes a Rule
The MAC approval is a significant step, but it is not the final one. Understanding how UIL policy gets made helps explain what comes next.
The UIL Medical Advisory Committee is a body of medical professionals that reviews health and safety policies and makes recommendations to UIL leadership. When the MAC approves a change, it carries significant weight, but it does not automatically become a rule. That authority belongs to the UIL Legislative Council.
The Legislative Council is UIL’s governing body, made up of representatives from member schools across Texas. It meets periodically to vote on proposed rule changes. A MAC recommendation that goes before the Legislative Council is not a formality — it is a formal vote. Most MAC-recommended health and safety measures pass, but they are not binding until the Legislative Council acts.
UIL has indicated the Legislative Council will consider the WBGT mandate at its June meeting. If approved there, the rule takes effect for the 2026-2027 school year.
Timeline for Schools to Implement the Requirements
That timeline is tighter than it sounds. The 2026-2027 school year does not start in September. For most Texas athletic programs, it starts in August with fall football practice.
If the mandate passes in June, schools will have roughly six to eight weeks before it applies to live outdoor activity. UIL has committed to updating schools after the Legislative Council meeting concludes.
Complete
The UIL approved Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) as the recommended measurement for monitoring heat stress during outdoor activities — replacing the traditional Heat Index with a standard that accounts for temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation.
Complete
The UIL Medical Advisory Committee votes to advance WBGT from a recommendation to a formal requirement — a pivotal step in the rule-making process for all Texas member schools.
Upcoming
The UIL Legislative Council casts the decisive vote on whether to make WBGT monitoring a binding requirement for all member schools across the state of Texas.
Upcoming
As the new school year begins, UIL member schools start mandatory compliance with WBGT-based heat protocols — taking effect as soon as summer practices kick off for marching band and fall sports like football, cross country, and volleyball.
What UIL is Requiring of Texas Schools
WBGT is a single number that accounts for what the air temperature alone cannot tell you: temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation all combined into one measurement that reflects how the human body actually experiences heat. A 95-degree day with low humidity and a breeze feels — and is — meaningfully different from a 95-degree day that is still and humid. WBGT captures that difference. A standard thermometer does not.
UIL’s protocols are built around two threshold numbers that vary by region:
- Class 2 schools: Activity modifications begin at a WBGT of 79.7°F
- Class 3 schools: Activity modifications begin at a WBGT of 82°F
Your school’s classification determines which threshold applies to you, and the WBGT Activity Guidelines chart — available on UIL’s health and safety page — outlines the specific modifications required at each level. These include adjustments to work-to-rest ratios, hydration breaks, equipment worn, and practice duration. At the highest levels, outdoor activity must stop entirely.
Beyond the threshold numbers, UIL specifies how monitoring must be conducted:
- WBGT must be read within 15 minutes before the start of practice
- If using an on-site instrument, it must be set up 30 minutes before practice begins
- Readings must be taken every 30 minutes throughout the practice window
- The same person should take all readings during a given practice for consistency
- Schools should document and keep on file the WBGT readings associated with each outdoor practice
What Compliance Actually Looks Like
Meeting these requirements operationally is more involved than most schools currently have in place.
Handheld WBGT Monitors
If you are using a handheld WBGT meter, someone has to carry it, set it up 30 minutes before practice, take a reading 15 minutes before the start, and then take readings every 30 minutes for the full duration of every outdoor session, across every program. Football. Cross country. Soccer. Band. That is a lot of manual reads, and it assumes the right person is always there, always on time, and always remembers.
Online Public WBGT Data Sources
If you are using an internet-based tool like the UNC WBGT forecasting resource that UIL references, you are getting a forecast — not a measurement. Forecast WBGT is derived from regional weather models. It is a useful planning tool, but it is not the same as knowing what the actual conditions are at your specific practice field at your specific moment in time.
Considerations When Choosing How you will Monitor WBGT
UIL’s language reflects this: schools are encouraged to use either a scientifically approved on-site instrument or a scientifically proven internet-based application. Both are acceptable under current guidance. But as monitoring moves from recommendation to mandate, the standard for what counts as sufficient documentation will likely tighten. A printed forecast is easier to dispute than a timestamped, location-specific sensor reading.
There is also the liability question. When a student experiences heat illness, the first question asked is whether the school was monitoring conditions and following protocols. Documentation matters. A manual log is better than nothing. An automated, time-stamped record is better than a manual log.
How Perry Weather Schools Are Already Meeting These Requirements
Perry Weather’s on-site weather stations measure WBGT directly at the field — not from a regional model, not from a forecast, but from instruments installed at your facility. Temperature, humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation are all measured in real time and combined into a live WBGT reading that updates continuously.
When WBGT crosses a threshold, the system can trigger automated alerts to coaches, athletic trainers, and administrators. No manual reads. No relying on a single person to check a device every 30 minutes. No question about whether the right protocol is in effect.
Schools using Perry Weather have a timestamped record of every condition reading at every outdoor session — the kind of documentation that satisfies UIL’s record-keeping guidance and holds up when it matters most.
The 2026-2027 school year starts in August. Fall football practice starts before that. There is time to get a system in place before the mandate takes effect, but not a lot of it.
