Resources for Parents and Personnel, Schools and Childcares, and their Communities
Climate: Children & Schools
- US EPA Climate Change and Children’s Health Report (2023)
- US EPA Protecting Children’s Health During and After Disasters flood, heat, wildfires/ash
- US EPA Preparing for and Responding to Natural Disasters (including schools)
- US GAO Disaster Recovery: School Districts in Socially Vulnerable Communities Faced Heightened Challenges after Recent Natural Disasters (2022)
- Extreme Heat: Tips to Keep Kids Safe When Temperatures Soar, American Academy of Pediatrics (for parents, home settings)
- New York State Extreme Heat Action Plan, 2024, includes educational facilities
- US Department of Education, All-Hazards Approach When Planning for Emergency Incidents
- FEMA: Community Preparedness – Integrating Needs of Children
- Healthy Schools Network Resources on Disasters and Schools, includes 9/11, Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill, Super Storm Sandy, Presentation on “Climate Disasters at School: Who’s in Charge?”
- Healthy Schools Network Resources on Common Health Hazards in Schools, lead, radon, asbestos, mercury, pesticides, PCBs
Indoor Air
- US EPA Preventing the Spread of Respiratory Viruses(2024)
- US EPA Creating Healthy Indoor Air in Schools
- US EPA Resources for Parents, Students, and Healthy Indoor School Environments, includes health symptoms
- US EPA Typical Indoor Air Pollutants, mold, radon, lead, CO
- Parent’s Guide to School Indoor Air Quality, 6 pp, classic reference in the field of children’s environmental health at school, written by and for parents; contains the basics of school IAQ, simple steps, what to ask for/look for, and what to do if no one listens and your child is still sick. Healthy Schools Network, © 1997, 2003, 2012.
- US EPA IAQ Design Tools for Schools – does not yet address climate
- US EPA School Siting Guideline, 2011 – does not yet address climate
- US Government Accountability Office (GAO) K-12 Education: School Districts Frequently Identified Multiple Building Systems Needing Updates or Replacement (2020)
- AIR JUST AIR: Clean Air in Schools Summit Report, Healthy Schools Network © 2024
- COVID, Climate, Children and Schools Summit Report, Healthy Schools Network © 2020
- The Pandemic v. Schools: Schools Must Adopt Infection Prevention and Control Policies Federal and state health officials must guide schools. (Healthy Schools Network and New Jersey Work Environment Council, July 2020, 55pp with appendices). A collaboratively produced playbook for states that combines children’s health and mental health and worker health and safety as the basis for the nation’s first-ever call for schools to have authoritative Infection Prevention and Control Plans. Co-released with American Public Health Association, National Association of School Nurses, Asthma and Allergy Association of America, New Jersey Education Association, Learning Disabilities Association of America, and supported by dozens of other organizations.
Asthma
- Workplace/School Model Fragrance-Free Policy
- Asthmagens Database, Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics. Select “Display All Asthmagens” to view the complete list of substances reported as asthmagens by occupational asthma experts.
Mold
- Mold and Dampness in Schools: 2 pp, outlines how to use the NIOSH Mold and Dampness Assessment Tool, Healthy Schools Network, © 2019
- Dampness and Mold Assessment Tool- General Buildings, National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
- Mold in Schools, US Environmental Protection Agency
Cleaning and Disinfecting
- Green Cleaning Can Help Schools Safely Open: February 2021 School Business Affairs magazine, reprinted with permission of the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO).
- Disinfecting & Schools: Panel Presentations and Discussion Products and Equipment for Indoor Health, Webinar, Expert Panel presentations, Healthy Schools Network, August 28, 2020
- Safer Disinfectants on EPA’s List of Anti-Microbial Products for Use Against the Novel Human Coronavirus, Responsible Purchasing Network, March 2020
- US EPA Six Steps for Safe and Effective Disinfecting
Common Health Hazards in Schools, Other Helpful Guidance
- Calming the School (Building) Environment, Collaborative for High Performance Schools, 2022
- School Renovation and Construction: What You Need to Know to Protect Child And Adult Environmental Health: 6 pp, detailed steps that all schools should take to protect occupants in buildings under renovation; highlights compliance with model NYS regulations © 2000, 2012
- Safer Pest Control: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for Schools