Information Resources

Hazard Fact Sheets

Schools should be places of growth and inspiration, not sources of environmental stress. However, many educational facilities face hidden hazards that can impact the health, attendance, and cognitive performance of both students and staff.

This resource page provides comprehensive Hazard Fact Sheets designed to help parents, educators, and administrators identify, manage, and mitigate common environmental threats.

MOLD/MILDEW
LEAD
ASBESTOS
PEST INFESTATIONS

RESOURCES ONLINE

organizatons

  • 21st Century School Fund – 21CSF is dedicated to building the public will and capacity to modernize public school facilities so they support high quality education and community revitalization.
  • National Center on School Infrastructure – The National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI) is a national resource hub that supports states and school districts in the stewardship of America’s elementary and secondary public school facilities.
  • Interactive Data Dashboard on Public School Facilities Funding (NCSI) – Allows users to visualize and compare the scale and distribution of state and local investments, spending, and debt related to public school facilities over time.
  • School Health Research Library (Center for Green Schools) – A curated collection of nearly 600 peer-reviewed scientific studies published since 2016. The library focuses on the link between the school’s built environment (like air quality, noise, and lighting) and its impact on student and staff health and performance.

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NIOSH

  • Dampness and Mold Assessment Tool – includes a form and detailed instructions for assessing general buildings. The tool guides users to systematically check for, score, and prioritize remediation of areas with mold odor, visible mold, wetness, or water damage to prevent associated health problems in occupants.
  • Collaborative Study in Philadelphia Elementary Schools – This fact sheet describes a collaboration between NIOSH and the School District of Philadelphia to implement the NIOSH Dampness and Mold Assessment Tool (NDMAT) in over 196 schools.

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FUNDING

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RESEARCH

  • School Health Research Library (Center for Green Schools) – A curated collection of nearly 600 peer-reviewed scientific studies published since 2016. The library focuses on the link between the school’s built environment (like air quality, noise, and lighting) and its impact on student and staff health and performance.
  • Developing an energy-efficient IAQ management plan at the district level -Published by the U.S. Green Building Council, outlines a strategic framework for school districts to develop a comprehensive Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) management plan. The guide focuses on implementing best practices like enhanced ventilation and filtration systems to protect the health of students and staff while ensuring the plan is also energy-efficient across all district facilities.
  • The Impact of School Building Condition and Student Achievement, and Behavior – This paper examines the relationship between school building condition and student variables like academic achievement and behavior. It concludes that better built environments have a positive impact on student test scores, with differences ranging from 5 to 17 percentile points compared to students in substandard buildings.
  • Neglected Schools, Suffering Students – Highlighted the negative impact of deteriorating school buildings—with a separate study estimating that poor conditions caused Baltimore City students to collectively lose about 1.5 million hours of instruction between 2014 and 2019.
  • Healthy Buildings (Harvard) -Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health site summarizes the Healthy Buildings Program’s research on schools. The research provides scientific proof that school buildings, including their indoor air quality and ventilation, are foundational to student health, thinking, and academic performance.

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Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

  • Developing an energy-efficient IAQ management plan at the district level -Published by the U.S. Green Building Council, outlines a strategic framework for school districts to develop a comprehensive Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) management plan. The guide focuses on implementing best practices like enhanced ventilation and filtration systems to protect the health of students and staff while ensuring the plan is also energy-efficient across all district facilities.
  • Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools (EPA) -A comprehensive resource for developing and sustaining IAQ management programs in school environments. The program’s goal is to promote a healthy learning environment to reduce absenteeism, improve student test scores, and enhance student and staff productivity.

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Health

  • School Health Research Library (Center for Green Schools) – A curated collection of nearly 600 peer-reviewed scientific studies published since 2016. The library focuses on the link between the school’s built environment (like air quality, noise, and lighting) and its impact on student and staff health and performance.
  • Philadelphia Regional Center for Children’s Environmental Health (PRCCEH) – Program funded by NIEHS at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Its goal is to develop and implement effective strategies to reduce children’s environmental exposures in the Philadelphia region and improve their health, with a focus on issues like air pollution, asthma, and toxic chemicals

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