Plan Your Activity

The 21st Annual National Healthy Schools Day is April 4th

Resources for Parents and Personnel, Schools and Childcares, and their Communities: 

• White House Clean Indoor Air Fact Sheet  
• 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
• School Business Affairs, Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Using ESSER Funds, February 2023, courtesy Association of School Business Officials-International (ASBO)
• 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 © 1997, 2003, 2012.
• US Government Accountability Office (GAO) K-12 Education: School Districts Frequently Identified Multiple Building Systems Needing Updates or Replacement
• IAQ Design Tools for Schools, (US Environmental Protection Agency)
• National Healthy Schools Summit Report 2022
• The Pandemic v. Schools: States Must Guide Schools on Reopening and Slowing Spread of Virus (Healthy Schools Network and New Jersey Work Environment Council, July 2020, 55pp with appendices). A collaboratively produced playbook for states that combines children’s environmental 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. 
• US Dept of Education Chart of COVID Bail Out Funds for Schools

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.
• Healthy Environments: A Compilation of Substances Linked to Asthma, a compilation of substances linked to asthma that are found in building materials, furnishings, and other similar items. 

MOLD

• Mold and Dampness in Schools: 2 pp, outlines how to use the NIOSH Mold and Dampness Assessment Tool © 2019
• 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 organized by 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 
• New York State Joint Memo on Cleaning and Disinfecting Appendix C (2020)
• Washington State Department of Health on Cleaning for Healthy Schools
• Cleaning for Healthy Schools (National Collaborative Work Group on Green Cleaning and Chemical Policy Reform in Schools) 

OTHER HELPFUL GUIDANCE

• 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.
• US EPA Healthy Schools Checklist, 16pp
• School Health and Safety Committees: How to Promote Child and Adult Environmental Health 6 pp, includes schoolhouse illustration showing what to look for in a building walk-through inspection, public documents that may be useful, and tips on how to set up a committee © 2000.
• Safer Pest Control: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for Schools
• Kick the Pesticide Habit: Children, Learning and Poisons Don't Mix: 4 pp, guide on pesticides, safer solutions, school application, IPM and more.