A majority of school districts in the U.S. have taken measures to improve indoor air quality during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council and ASHRAE.
But many districts still have unmet needs, while facing high costs and outdated building infrastructure. “The results of the survey show that schools have implemented some protective measures to improve IAQ, prioritizing ventilation and filtration to reduce the transmission of the virus,” a USGBC news release says.
The report “provides a wide-scale, foundational framework to school leaders and lawmakers alike towards the implementation of new building design guidelines and to advance health and sustainability goals,” the release says.
The report’s findings include:
• School districts that have been able to act have leaned heavily on their mechanical systems, such as increasing air supply through HVAC systems or upgrading filters to implement protective air quality measures for students and teachers.
• Only two-thirds of respondents were regularly monitoring IAQ before the pandemic, indicating that providing time, staff, and funding for regular monitoring and data collection has not been a priority for many districts in the past.
• Respondents want to continue the measures implemented during the pandemic, citing student and teacher health. Seventy percent of school districts plan to continue some or all of the strategies they’ve implemented.
Related Stories
Concrete | Jan 24, 2023
Researchers investigate ancient Roman concrete to make durable, lower carbon mortar
Researchers have turned to an ancient Roman concrete recipe to develop more durable concrete that lasts for centuries and can potentially reduce the carbon impact of the built environment.
Government Buildings | Jan 9, 2023
Blackstone, Starwood among real estate giants urging President Biden to repurpose unused federal office space for housing
The Real Estate Roundtable, a group including major real estate firms such as Brookfield Properties, Blackstone, Empire State Realty Trust, Starwood Capital, as well as multiple major banks and CRE professional organizations, recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden on the implications of remote work within the federal government.
Multifamily Housing | Jan 9, 2023
New York City advances plan to build 500,000 new housing units
After New York Mayor Eric Adams announced a “Moonshot” plan to build 500,000 new housing units over the next 10 years in early December, he moved quickly to jumpstart the process.
Sustainability | Jan 9, 2023
Innovative solutions emerge to address New York’s new greenhouse gas law
New York City’s Local Law 97, an ambitious climate plan that includes fines for owners of large buildings that don’t significantly reduce carbon emissions, has spawned innovations to address the law’s provisions.
Codes and Standards | Jan 9, 2023
EPA reverses course on clean water rule changes enacted by Trump administration
After long legal battles and extensive debate over the expansiveness of the Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency repealed changes enacted by the Trump administration.
Multifamily Housing | Dec 29, 2022
San Jose is largest U.S. city to abolish minimum parking for new housing
San Jose, Calif., recently became the largest U.S. city to strike down minimum parking requirements for new housing development. The city reversed zoning devised in the 1950s that reputedly gave it the worst sprawl of parking space in northern California.
Codes and Standards | Dec 29, 2022
New York City multifamily owners concerned over fires caused by e-bikes
In 2022, there have been nearly 200 fires and six deaths in New York City caused by lithium-ion batteries used in mobility devices such as electric bikes and scooters.
Sponsored | Resiliency | Dec 14, 2022
Flood protection: What building owners need to know to protect their properties
This course from Walter P Moore examines numerous flood protection approaches and building owner needs before delving into the flood protection process. Determining the flood resilience of a property can provide a good understanding of risk associated costs.
HVAC | Dec 13, 2022
Energy Management Institute launches online tool to connect building owners with HVAC contractors
The National Energy Management Institute Inc. (NEMI) along with the Biden administration’s Better Air in Buildings website have rolled out a resource to help building owners and managers, school districts, and other officials find HVAC contractors.
Green | Dec 9, 2022
Reaching carbon neutrality in building portfolios ranks high for organizations
Reaching carbon neutrality with their building portfolios ranks high in importance among sustainability goals for organizations responding to a Honeywell/Reuters survey of senior executives at 187 large, multinational corporations. Nearly nine in 10 respondents (87%) say that achieving carbon neutrality in their building portfolio is either extremely (58%) or somewhat (29%) important in relation to their overall ESG goals. Only 4% of respondents called it unimportant.
