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    • Environmental Topics
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    • Climate Change
    • Emergency Response
    • Environmental Information by Location
    • Environmental Justice
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    • Lead
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Contact Us

Healthy School Environments

  • Organizations to Receive Funding for Healthy Learning Environments

    • Read the press release.
    • Learn more about the Healthy Learning Environments Grants Initiative.
  • Protecting Children in Indian Country

    Lead Awareness in Indian Country: Keeping our Children Healthy! provides practical, community-based resources to reduce childhood lead exposure.

    • New Curriculum to Protect Children in Indian Country and Communities from Lead Exposure.
    • Read the news release.
  • 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water

    EPA's 3Ts - Training, Testing, and Taking Action - provides tools for schools, child care facilities, states, and water systems to implement voluntary lead in drinking water testing programs.
    • View the 3Ts Toolkit.
    • Read the news release.
Healthy school environments can affect the attendance, concentration and performance of both students and educators.  This website presents information on key topics about establishing and enhancing healthy school environments. 
  • Other EPA topics for educators, school administrators, and parents:
    • Environmental Education - education grants, educator training, and student and educator recognition programs.
    • Learning and Teaching about the Environment - homework resources, lesson plans and project ideas for students.
  • View information about healthy schools in Spanish / Aprenda acerca de cómo establecer y mejorar los ambientes escolares sanos.
  • Registered EPA disinfectants for use against COVID-19.
  • The Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools program provides school staff with a set of webinars on best ventilation and cleaning practices, updated to reflect current conditions.

Key Topics

Air: Indoor air

  • Creating healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) in schools
    • IAQ Tools for Schools Action Kit
    • School IAQ Assessment Mobile App
    • IAQ Training Webinars
    • Preventive Maintenance Guidance Documents for Schools

Air: Outdoor air near schools

  • Best Practices for Reducing Near-Road Pollution Exposure at Schools
  • Air Quality Flag Program - learn how schools can raise flags that correspond to how clean or polluted the air that day is.

Asbestos

  • Learn about asbestos
  • Asbestos and school buildings. Includes information on:
    • Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA)
    • How schools comply with AHERA
    • School asbestos management plans
    • Resources for schools and parents
    • Informacion en español - para parientes, maestros y otros empleados escolares

Asthma

  • Learn about asthma
  • Managing Asthma in the School Environment
  • Managing Asthma: A Guide for Schools (PDF) 
  • Roles of state asthma programs in Implementing school-based asthma interventions 
  • Asthma and Indoor Air Exposure

Buses and vehicle idling

  • Clean School Bus Rebate Program
    • Idle reduction
    • Replacing old school buses

Chemical management

  • Toolkit for Safe Chemical Management in K-12 Schools
  • EPA’s Environmental Response Team

Cleaning

  • Products that meet the Safer Choice standard
  • Green Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting: A Toolkit for Early Care and Education (en Español)
  • Practicing effective cleaning and maintenance (a component of the Model Program for the State School Environmental Health Guidelines)
  • Environmentally preferable purchasing

Lead

General Information

  • Learn about lead
  • Lead air pollution

Lead and Children

  • Environmental health facts about children and lead exposure
  • Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposure
  • Protecting Children from Lead Exposures (PDF)
  • Protecting children where they learn and play

Lead in Drinking Water

  • Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water
  • Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water Grant

Mercury

  • Learn about mercury
  • Case studies about mercury cleanups at schools
  • Don’t Mess with Mercury (ATSDR)

Mold

  • Learn about mold
  • Mold and indoor air quality in schools
  • Mold remediation in schools and commercial buildings
  • Mold resources for schools and commercial buildings

PCBs

  • Learn about Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
  • PCBs in building materials for school administrators, building owners and managers

Pesticides and pest management

  • Managing pests in schools
    • Integrated pest management (IPM) in schools

Radon

  • Learn about radon
  • Radon in schools

Waste reduction

  • Tools to Reduce Waste in Schools (PDF)
  • Tips for students and schools regarding green supplies and in the cafeteria
Sensible Steps for School Health

Assess Your School's Health

Use a fillable, printable PDF form to assess the current environmental health of your school.

Top Ten Ways to Make Your School Healthier

  1. Clear the air inside.
  2. Clear the air outside.
  3. Reduce/remove radon in school buildings.
  4. Use chemicals carefully.
  5. Test the water.
  6. Get the lead out. 
  7. Eliminate mercury.
  8. Cover up.
  9. Use toxics with caution.
  10. Educate yourself. 

Learn more:  Sensible Steps to Healthier School Environments (April 2017) (PDF).

Related Information
Healthy Schools
  • School Siting Guidelines
  • School Environmental Health Guidelines
Children’s Health
  • Protecting Children’s Environmental Health website
  • NIEHS/EPA Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers
Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on October 6, 2022
United States Environmental Protection Agency

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