EPA's Healthy School Environments Webpage Resources

More than 53 million children and almost 3 million adults spend a significant portion of their days in approximately 112,000 public and private school buildings, many of which are old and inadequately maintained, and which often contain environmental conditions that inhibit learning and pose increased risks to the health of children and staff.

The Healthy School Environments Web page is intended to serve as a portal to on-line resources to help facility managers, school administrators, architects, design engineers, school nurses, parents, teachers and staff address environmental health issues in schools.

While the information is primarily intended to help improve the environment of school facilities, educational resources for students and teachers can also be found through the Healthy School Environments portal — epa.gov/schools.

The resources identified have been developed by EPA, other federal agencies, states, local governments and non-governmental organizations. Visitors can browse resources by topic or by geographic area, or search all resources by entering specific keywords into the search box at the top of each page.

The EPA webpage also provides access to outreach materials including: voluntary guidelines on school siting and a soon-to-be-released document on school environmental health; Sensible Steps to Healthier schools: Cost-Effective, Affordable Measures to Protect the Health of Students and Staff; Idel Free Schools Toolkit and Updated EPA guidance on PCBs in fluorescent light ballasts.

To access these materials, visit www2.epa.gov/region8/healthy-school-environments.

— Reprinted in part with permission of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine has been recognized with an EDS 2025 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • California District Starts Construction on New Robotics Facility

    The Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) near Silicon Valley, Calif., recently announced that construction has begun on a new Robotics Facility on the campus of Cupertino High School, according to a news release. The 14,500-square-foot facility will serve students at high schools across the entire district, providing purpose-built spaces for student creativity and collaboration.

  • Tufts University Breaks Ground on Two New Residence Halls

    Tufts University in Medford, Mass., recently broke ground on two new residence halls with a total capacity of 664 beds, according to local news. The project’s ultimate goal is to expand on-campus housing and reduce pressure on the local housing market.

  • Mesa West Capital Provides Loan to Refinance University of Georgia Residence Complex

    Mesa West Capital recently announced that it has provided a $133.9-million, short-term, first mortgage loan to developer LV Collective (“LV”) to refinance a student housing complex near the University of Georgia, according to a news release. Rambler Athens, a 750-bed residence hall adjacent to the campus, was completed in August 2024.

Digital Edition