As students across Pennsylvania head back to school this week, a sobering new report reveals that the facilities they’re learning in are far from healthy–and why the ABCs are more necessary than ever.
Women for a Healthy Environment just released their comprehensive 2025 State of Environmental Health in Pennsylvania Schools Report, and the findings should give every parent, educator, and policymaker pause. As Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis, executive director of Women for a Healthy Environment, told WHYY: “What we’ve discovered should concern every parent, educator and policymaker. Our children and educators spend countless hours in school buildings that should promote health and growth, but for too many, they’re not.”
This isn’t abstract data—it’s the daily reality for more than 1.7 million Pennsylvania students. And it’s proof positive that our ABCs (adequate building conditions) framework addresses real, measurable threats to student health and learning.
The Numbers Tell the Story
The study, which collected information through Right-to-Know requests from 80 Pennsylvania public school districts, found a pattern of environmental hazards that cuts across district lines and ZIP codes:
- 75% of schools that tested for radon found levels exceeding federal action thresholds
- Over 71% of school districts detected lead in their drinking water between 2021 and 2022
- Almost half of school districts that tested for mold detected the fungus in at least one of their buildings
- Fewer than half of school districts that detected mold actually remediated the issue
- Only 14% of schools in SEPA even tested for lead paint–and of those that found lead paint, only one could document that it had been fixed
The bottom line: data may be spotty and testing inconsistent, but what facts and figures we do have are troubling.
The Health Crisis Is Real
This isn’t just statistics, however. The health consequences are real and showing up in Pennsylvania classrooms right now.
Pennsylvania schoolchildren suffer from asthma at a rate of 13.9%—nearly double the national average. In some districts, that climbs to 32.6%. That’s one in every three children struggling to breathe in their learning environment.
“As a physician who spent decades treating children with asthma as well as environmental illness, the findings in this report represent a public health crisis hiding right in plain sight,” Dr. Deborah Gentile from Community Partners in Asthma Care told WHYY, adding that children’s growing respiratory systems are particularly vulnerable to environmental pollutants.
Moreover, the report cites the 2018 case of a 6-year-old Philadelphia student who was hospitalized with severe lead poisoning after eating paint chips that fell from their classroom ceiling.
All told, these prove that without systematic attention to these basic building conditions, we’re asking children to learn in environments that actively undermine their health–an unfair, and unhealthy, demand.
Why ABCs Are the Answer
When the building meant to nurture learning becomes a source of harm, we have a fundamental failure of adequate building conditions. Our ABCs framework directly addresses these exact problems.
Under ABCs, schools should have:
- Contaminant-free drinking water readily available (addressing the 71% of districts with lead contamination)
- Properly functioning HVAC systems that don’t harbor mold or create stagnant air conditions (addressing the widespread mold and air quality issues)
- Buildings free from environmental toxins like lead paint and asbestos, or active remediation plans with affected areas isolated from student use
The Path Forward Exists
The good news? Solutions are within reach, and momentum is building. The Shapiro administration has allocated $275 million for school infrastructure improvements, with an additional $125 million proposed for 2025-26, according to WHYY. State legislators are advancing bills requiring comprehensive testing for environmental hazards.
This is exactly why the Healthy Schools initiative matters. This is why ABCs aren’t optional. This report doesn’t just highlight problems—it validates our approach and proves that systematic attention to building conditions isn’t about perfection, it’s about basic safety and health.
Every time we advocate for adequate building conditions, we’re advocating for that 6-year-old who shouldn’t have to eat lead paint chips. We’re advocating for the one in three kids struggling with asthma. We’re advocating for the fundamental principle that educational environments should support learning, not undermine it with health-damaging facilities.
The Pennsylvania report gives us the data. ABCs gives us the framework. Now we need the commitment to make it happen.
The full 2025 State of Environmental Health in Pennsylvania Schools Report is available at womenforahealthyenvironment.org