What Changed, and When

For two seasons, the UIL recommended that Texas schools monitor wet bulb globe temperature during outdoor activity. That recommendation is becoming a requirement. The UIL voted to make WBGT monitoring mandatory for outdoor athletics and marching band beginning in the 2026-27 school year, pending approval by the Commissioner of Education, with a target effective date of August 1, 2026.

The practical effect is that a practice many programs already followed informally now has to be documented and applied the same way across every outdoor program, every day. A football staff that monitored during two-a-days but skipped it for cross country or band now has to apply one standard across the board.

The headline date

The change was approved on June 10, 2026, and is targeted to take effect August 1, 2026, for the 2026-27 school year, pending Commissioner of Education approval. The window to get a monitoring and documentation process in place is before fall practices begin.

Who the Rule Covers

The requirement applies to outdoor athletic and marching band activities across the board: practices, contests, workouts, and conditioning. Band is not an afterthought here. Students rehearsing on open asphalt in August face the same heat load as athletes, often with less medical coverage on site, and they are covered by the same rule.

What Compliance Requires

The rule has two halves. There are firm requirements, and there are the activity modifications tied to the readings. Keeping them straight makes compliance simpler.

✓
Monitor WBGT on site. Set up 30 minutes before, read within 15 minutes of the start, then every 30 minutes during, by the same person when possible.
✓
Stage a rapid cooling zone. Cold-water immersion available on site at 79.7°F in Class 2 or 82°F in Class 3 and above, for practices and contests.
✓
Update the emergency action plan. It must include onsite rapid cooling using cold-water immersion, and it must cover athletics and band.
✓
Provide water and real rest. Unrestricted access to water at all times, and rest breaks with unlimited hydration. A student is never denied water.
✓
Record and keep readings on file. The documentation is the part that quietly fails when it depends on a clipboard.
✓
Modify activity to the chart. As the reading climbs, follow the ACSM-based activity guidelines for your class, up to suspending outdoor activity.

The WBGT Activity Zones

Texas is split into two zone classes, Class 2 and Class 3, set by your campus location, and the exact thresholds differ between them. The activity guidelines escalate from normal activity with regular breaks up to full suspension, with a rapid cooling zone required from the second band and above.

See the exact numbers

The full five-tier chart for both classes, with the work-to-rest modifications at each level, is broken down in our thresholds guide. See the Texas WBGT activity thresholds.

Band Directors, This Means You

The most overlooked part of the rule is that it covers marching band. Long rehearsals, open pavement, uniforms and instruments, and frequently no athletic trainer on site add up to real exposure. The monitoring, cooling-zone, and documentation requirements apply to band exactly as they do to athletics.

For directors

Confirm who takes and records WBGT at every rehearsal site, make sure a cooling zone is staged, and check that your campus emergency action plan names band. Read the marching band guide.

How Schools Meet the Requirement

There are three common ways to capture WBGT, and they are not equal once the rule's harder parts are factored in: every 30 minutes, recorded, and acted on.

📱
Phone app

Estimates WBGT from the nearest weather data, which may not match your field. No automatic logging or alerting. A backup at best, not a compliance system.

🔬
Handheld meter

Accurate on-site reading, but someone has to take and record it every 30 minutes, all season, at every site. Workable with dedicated staff, fragile without.

📡
Fixed station

Reads continuously on site, logs every reading automatically, and alerts staff at zone transitions with no one standing there. Scales across a district as one network.

Compare the methods in detail

Accuracy, the 30-minute cadence, records, alerts, and staff burden, side by side. See the monitoring methods comparison, or review the record-keeping and EAP rules and the district compliance checklist.

Beyond the Mandate

The rule is about heat, but the station that meets it does far more. The same on-site system covers lightning with dual detection, severe weather and National Weather Service alerts, and air quality, and it can drive an outdoor warning siren and a visible display. If you are investing to meet the rule anyway, it is worth scoping it once for the whole campus.

Weatherstem already operates stations across Texas, including at the University of Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Motor Speedway, and more than 900 nationwide. See how compliance becomes whole-campus safety.

Frequently Asked Questions

The UIL voted on June 10, 2026 to make WBGT monitoring a requirement for outdoor athletics and marching band beginning in the 2026-27 school year, pending approval by the Commissioner of Education, with a target effective date of August 1, 2026.
Yes. The requirement applies to outdoor marching band activities alongside athletics, including practices, contests, workouts, and conditioning.
On-site WBGT monitoring, a rapid cooling zone with cold-water immersion at the trigger, an emergency action plan covering athletics and band, unrestricted water and rest with hydration, and readings recorded and kept on file.
At 79.7°F or higher in Class 2, or 82°F or higher in Class 3, for practices and contests.

Weatherstem is not affiliated with or sponsored by the University Interscholastic League. References to the UIL are for informational purposes only.