Paterson school officials didn’t have a weather contingency plan for the June 23 outdoor graduations, where scores of people were overcome by heat.

At least 59 people were overcome by heat during a Paterson high school graduation ceremony on the morning of June 23 at Hinchliffe Stadium.

Soaring temperatures, including a 107 degree heat index, forced officials in Paterson, New Jersey to cut short a district-wide graduation ceremony after several attendees were sent to the hospital, prompting a citywide state of emergency.