IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 359 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Healthy Schools Day. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2019 
Mr. EVANS (for himself and Mr. GRIJALVA) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
RESOLUTION 
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Healthy Schools 
Day. 
Whereas children spend up to half of their day in schools and 
their environs; 
Whereas schools have the potential to expose children to a 
broad array of hazards, including air and drinking water 
contaminants, toxic substances in the soil, synthetic turf 
and other media, lead-based paints, pesticides, and other 
toxins within and outside of schools, asthma-causing pol-
lutants, molds, radon, and asbestos; 
Whereas, despite the need to address unsafe levels of lead in 
school drinking water across the country, in 2019, the 
Healthy Schools Network reported that as of November 
2018 only 9 States required public schools to test at the 
tap for lead; and further, the T.H. Chan School of Public 
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Health at Harvard University and the Nutrition Policy 
Institute at the University of California also reported 
that only 25 States had school drinking water initiatives 
between January 1, 2016, and February 28, 2018; 
Whereas a 1995 Government Accountability Office (GAO) re-
port on Condition of America’s Schools—the only GAO 
study on this issue—determined that poor school facility 
conditions were concentrated in high-poverty schools serv-
ing students of color, placing millions of children at risk; 
Whereas, according to a 2014 Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention survey, only 46.5 percent of schools had 
a program in place to address indoor air quality issues; 
and further, that fewer States and districts in 2014 than 
in 2010 were addressing indoor air; 
Whereas children may also be exposed to toxic contaminants 
when schools are sited near environmental hazards such 
as hazardous waste disposal sites, or when schools are 
renovated or expanded while school is in session; 
Whereas the T.H. Chan School of Public Health ‘‘Schools for 
Health’’ study reported that the environmental conditions 
of schools affect children’s ‘‘health, thinking, and learn-
ing’’; 
Whereas environmental contaminants can affect children 
quite differently than adults, both because children may 
be more highly exposed to contaminants and they may be 
more vulnerable to the toxic effects of contaminants; and 
further, environmental contaminants can affect children 
disproportionately since their immune defenses are not 
fully developed and their growing organs are more easily 
harmed; 
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Whereas these environmental problems contribute to absen-
teeism, child medication use, learning difficulties, sick 
building syndrome, staff turnover, and greater liability 
for school districts; 
Whereas there has been a significant rise in the incidence of 
childhood asthma, learning disabilities, and cancer; 
Whereas a 2018 study, ‘‘Heat and Learning’’, by the Na-
tional Bureau of Economic Research found that in 
schools without air conditioning, for every 1 Fahrenheit 
degree increase in school year temperature, the amount 
learned by students that year goes down by 1 percent; 
Whereas a 2016 report by the 21st Century School Fund 
found that, between 2012 and 2013, the average age of 
the main building of a public school was 44 years old; 
Whereas, in 2017, the American Society of Civil Engineers 
infrastructure report card stated 53 percent of schools 
needed to make investments for repairs, renovations, and 
modernizations to be considered to be in ‘‘good’’ condi-
tion; 
Whereas environmental, public health, and education laws 
must reflect a heightened sensitivity to the more suscep-
tible nature of children and the mechanisms by which ex-
posures and impacts affect children; 
Whereas providing for the rights of children, parents, teach-
ers and other educators, and the public to access infor-
mation about known hazards in schools will allow these 
persons to make informed choices about environmental 
exposures for their children and themselves; 
Whereas healthy and high-performance schools are designed 
to reduce energy and maintenance costs, while providing 
cleaner indoor air and environmental quality, improved 
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lighting, reduced exposures to toxic substances, materials 
and supplies, thereby providing a healthier and safer 
learning environment for children and work environment 
for personnel, fostering attendance, achievement, and 
productivity; 
Whereas the House of Representatives has been a consistent 
and powerful advocate for the protection of our children 
and a strong supporter of public education; 
Whereas the House of Representatives seeks to promote 
healthy learning places for all children and workplaces 
for school personnel; 
Whereas Federal, State, local, and private sector entities 
should work together to ensure that resources are used 
effectively and efficiently to address environmental health 
and safety conditions of schools; and 
Whereas May 1, 2019, is recognized as ‘‘National Healthy 
Schools Day’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the goals and ideals of National 
Healthy Schools Day; 
(2) recognizes the importance of improving our 
children’s aging school buildings; 
(3) encourages State and local governments, in-
cluding their public health, education, environment, 
energy, and labor agencies, to coordinate their ef-
forts to assist local schools, and to publicize the im-
portance of healthful learning environments in their 
communities; and 
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(4) supports a national commitment to pre-
venting the deterioration of our schools and to fixing 
our crumbling school facilities. 
Æ 
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