Healthy learning places for children - full panel

Education is constitutionally left to the states and states compel children to attend school. But decayed school facilities or facilities proximate to hazards will damage the health of children and personnel. The literature shows that healthy school environments boost attendance and achievement and generate savings, greater than energy savings. Recent studies report indoor environmental exposures may be 100-1,000 more intense than outdoor exposures; another, that pediatric asthma hospitalizations can triple on returns to school. The third triennial national report (Towards Healthy Schools 2015) reveals disparities in state capacities. Gaps include no standardized facility assessment tools, no sustained facility funding or guidance, lack of remediation funds for legacy toxics, and no public health services for children. US EPA has reduced or eliminated assistance programs for schools-focused programs; CDC dissolved its School Health program and cut asthma and lead funding. Education has a new "green schools" award, but it is not aligned with EPA or CDC environment and public health goals. The national report cites federal data on enrollment, special education, asthma, ADHD, and poverty, and cites selected policies on IAQ, IPM, green cleaning, and high performance design. The report concludes “all children should be considered at risk of health and learning difficulties due solely to unaddressed or unexamined environmental health risks in their schools and the lack of public health services for children at risk or with suspected exposures.” The recommendations target the need for swifter federal and state actions to address children's civil rights and justice concerns.