Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Nevada K–12 District Becomes First in U.S. to Achieve UL Verified Ventilation, Filtration Mark

  • By Matt Jones
  • 10/24/23

HVAC and air-cleaning systems performance testing solutions provider SafeTraces recently announced that the Clark County School District (CCSD) in Nevada has become the first public school district in the U.S. to achieve the UL Verified Ventilation & Filtration (VVF) annual verification mark in its portfolio of facilities, according to a news release.

UL Verified Ventilation & Filtration launched in March 2022 and is the only performance-based rating and assessment for pathogen protection provided by public HVAC and air-cleaning systems. The verification mark is given to buildings that meet performance requirements linked to CDC ventilation targets and ASHRAE building standards, the news release reports. CCSD is the fifth-largest public school district in the country, with 374 schools and more than 315,000 students.

“We are extremely proud to become the first public school district in the nation to earn the UL-SafeTraces Verified Ventilation & Filtration mark,” said Lori Olson, Director of Environmental Services at CCSD. “This achievement demonstrates Clark County School District's leadership and commitment to ensuring a healthy learning environment for all of our students, teachers, and staff. Moreover, it is one of the best and smartest investments that we can possibly make to improve student attendance, enrollment, and performance in order to ultimately deliver on CCSD's mission and strengthen our foundation for the future.”

The verification process involves a building-level desktop audit, as well as measurement and verification of air-cleaning system and HVAC performance in high-occupancy buildings. The process uses SafeTraces’ veriDART biotechnology-enabled performance testing and analytics platform.

“Led by Lori Olson and her team, CCSD's achievement of the UL VVF mark sends a powerful message to public school districts across the country about the fundamental importance of indoor air quality and pathogen protection to a healthy learning environment,” said SafeTraces CEO Erik Malmstrom. “Public school facilities are fully capable of meeting health-based ventilation standards with strong leadership and will, and without necessarily entailing significant cost and disruption. Other public school districts should follow CCSD's inspiring example. And our society should hold our school facilities to a higher standard and support them to do achieve this standard.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Photo credit - Chuck Coates

    Florida District Modernizes Central Energy Plants at Two High Schools

    Flagler Schools, a public school district in Flagler County, Fla., recently partnered with Matern Professional Engineering to modernize the central energy plants at two of its high schools, according to a news release. The project is part of a larger, district-wide effort to reduce energy costs and operational expenses.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • California Middle School Breaks Ground on Major Renovation Project

    The Hillsborough City School District (HCSD) in Hillsborough, Calif., recently began construction on new multipurpose and administration facilities for Crocker Middle School, according to a news release.