Healthy School Environments

With more than a million children spending many hours a day in Minnesota schools, the school environment is of special importance to our children's health and development. Schools grapple with a wide variety of environmental problems, a high occupant density, and limited resources to prevent and address building, and health and safety issues.

Schools also deserve special attention because relative to adults, children are more vulnerable to certain environmental hazards--their bodies are growing and developing and are more likely to be exposed to some contaminants such as mercury and pesticides. Moreover, schools face the challenge of an increasing number of children with pre-existing conditions, such as asthma, which are affected by indoor air quality and other environmental factors.

A healthy and safe school environment is a critical foundation for learning. Research suggests that reducing contaminant levels in schools may improve student test scores, concentration, attendance, and staff performance and sick leave rates. Moreover, maintaining a safe and healthy school environment may reduce building repair costs, consultant costs, and public relations problems.

The Minnesota Department of Health is actively engaged in assisting schools with a variety of environmental health programs. These programs inform school officials and others about methods to manage and prevent hazards, relevant laws, and useful guidance documents.

Additional Information:

• Healthy School Environment Resources, U. S. Environmental Protectin Agency (EPA)
  
  
• Minnesota Healthy Sustainable Schools, created by an interagency, cross-sector collaboration in Minnesota

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