President Bush's highly touted education reform law, "No Child Left Behind," authorized the U.S. Department of Education to provide grants for states to improve indoor air quality and energy efficiency in America's public schools.[1]
The program was created to combat problems such as mold, pesticides, lead-contaminated drinking water and asbestos exposure in aging public schools across the country.[2] The president's current budget proposal, however, provides no money to launch the program.
The Healthy and High Performance Schools Act was introduced and passed at the urging of U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and colleagues three years ago. Last month Sens. Clinton, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry and others wrote to President Bush urging him to budget $25 million for the Healthy Schools program.
"Today, an estimated 17 million children attend schools that undermine their health and learning," the letter states. "Asthma alone, which affects almost one in every 13 students, is the cause of approximately 14 million missed school days a year. Substantial evidence exists that exposure to indoor environmental allergens, often found in schools, plays a role in triggering asthma."
The Senators' letter further states that "simple prevention features, such as improved air quality and lighting, incorporated into the design and engineering of a building can yield benefits for all occupants."[3]
According to the EPA, half the nation's 115,000 schools have problems linked to indoor air quality.
"President Bush can retreat to a well-maintained 'green-design' ranch, while millions of school children are in shoddy, inefficient, decayed school buildings and asthma is the leading cause of absenteeism," said Claire Barnett, executive director of Healthy Schools Network, Inc. "A $25 million federal investment to promote Healthy High Performance Schools building standards in each of the states would move the school construction industry towards accessible, healthy and efficient school buildings with good air quality."
The Healthy and High Performance Schools Act also called for a national study to be presented to Congress by last July "regarding the health and learning impacts of environmentally unhealthy public school buildings on students and teachers." The study has been completed but has yet to be released to Congress as required by law.[4]
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Sign a petition to the Department of Education to let them know that you want Healthy Schools.
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SOURCES:
[1] "Healthy, High Performance School Buildings," Health Schools Network, Inc.
[2] Senator Clinton's Focus on Education.
[3] Letter to President Bush from U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton et. al.
[4] No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
