Asthma in the School Environment:

More than 20 million Americans have asthma, including an estimated 6.3 million children under the age of 18. This chronic, but manageable, disease affects 1 in 13 school-aged children. Asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness. Over 14 million school days are missed due to asthma each year.

Reducing Environmental Triggers of Asthma: School Walkthrough Project
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Asthma Program has developed a school asthma walkthrough checklist that focuses on low to no cost solutions for addressing environmental asthma triggers.

SCHOOL WALKTHROUGH FACT SHEET:
Reducing Environmental Triggers of Asthma, School Walkthrough Project, November 2009
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/cdee/asthma/documents/
09schoolwalkthroughfactsheet.pdf (PDF: 43KB/2 pages)

School Walkthrough Building & District Information, March 2009
(Word version) (40KB/2 pages)
(PDF version) (24KB/2 pages)

School Walkthrough Room by Room Checklist, March 2009
(Word version) (65KB/2 pages)

School Walkthrough Sample Report, November 2009
(Word version) (64KB/5 pages)

Air Quality Guidance for Schools & Child Care Facilities

The color-coded table provides physical activity recommendations based upon the forecasted level of air pollution, the intensity of the activity, and the duration of the physical activity.  The colors on this guidance document are similar to the MPCA AIQ publications.  Use of this table by school personnel and child care staff is voluntary.

The following recommendations for alternatives to outdoor activities on days when the air quality is poor were created by a group of health organizations, school officials and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (California).

Managing Asthma in Minnesota Schools
This manual was developed to help school personnel understand the basics of asthma and to offer reasonable steps toward promoting an environment where children with asthma can be healthy, happy and active.
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/cdee/asthma/school.html

United States Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Managing Asthma in the School Environment
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/managingasthma.html

Provides information on minimizing student and staff exposures to environmental asthma triggers inside schools.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Mold Web Course
http://www.epa.gov/mold

Mold is a common environmental trigger for asthma. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a free Mold Web Course that features information on mold prevention and remediation. The course is based on the EPA voluntary guidance document Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings and includes an "Image Library" of mold and moisture photos that may be used for presentations and educational purposes. The target audience is environmental and public health professionals, but anyone can learn from the course.

Updated Thursday, 28-Feb-2013 13:56:21 CST