“I stand here on the shoulders of teachers who’ve suffered for decades alongside their students in classrooms that are overheated, underventilated, and underheated in the winter,” said CEA President Kate Dias at a news conference of the state’s School Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Working Group.
Marking the 22nd annual National Healthy Schools Day, the group—which includes legislators, labor leaders, teachers, HVAC and public health professionals, and others—gave updates on policy mandates and funding aimed at addressing Connecticut public schools’ indoor air quality issues, including dangerous classroom temperatures, mold, inadequate ventilation leading to respiratory illnesses, and more.
“I often speak about my own personal experience as a high school math teacher on the second floor of a building constructed in the 1950s,” Dias addressed reporters at the Legislative Office Building, where the news conference was held. “It’s an oven on a good summer day, where my classroom gets up to 95 degrees, and during COVID, we told our students, ‘The most we can do for you today is open the windows and hope for the best.’ In the winter, it snowed in my classroom, and my children had to wear their coats and mittens and try to learn statistics and geometry. We have to have a reality check about what this environment is really like and whether we’re truly committed to change.”
Steps forward
Highlighting recent progress on school indoor air quality, members of the working group pointed to a grant program that reimburses districts for school HVAC costs—with $56 million disbursed so far and $450 million approved through fiscal year 2025—as well as the establishment of mandatory routine HVAC inspections, building walk-throughs, and necessary upgrades for all Connecticut public schools provided by certified technicians.
“It was just a few years ago that the legislature toughened our indoor air quality laws to require more frequent and stringent testing,” said School IAQ Working Group Senate Chair Julie Kushner. “That’s needed because we’ve got schools with old HVAC systems and ongoing air quality issues in this state. These IAQ grants create jobs, help kids and teachers, and can result in better academic performance. At a time when we’re weighing every tax dollar, these investments are not only wise, in many cases they are absolutely essential to public health.”
“Students, teachers, and staff should never worry about exposure to unsafe air at school,” said Rep. Jennifer Leeper, House Chair of the School IAQ Working Group. “Connecticut has made significant strides over the past couple of years in ensuring that schools have clean air, and I’m encouraged by the state’s financial commitment to this essential cause through grants for indoor air quality. While we’ve made progress,” she acknowledged, “there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure every school is a safe learning and teaching environment.”
Advocates emphasized the importance of sustained investments and resource allocation that’s equitable and prioritizes schools with the greatest needs.
“Our children suffer, their academic experience suffers, and make no mistake: this is a socioeconomic issue when you look at who’s suffering the most,” Dias said, adding that even schools in Connecticut’s wealthiest districts have been condemned, experienced sewage backups, and faced lawsuits in cases of childhood asthma. “The stories are endless. If you know an educator, if you know a student, you know someone who’s experienced an indoor air quality issue.”
End the double standard
Members called on the Connecticut General Assembly to pass legislation this session continuing the important work of the School IAQ Working Group.
“Students and staff in Connecticut’s schools deserve to be provided with a safe and healthy school environment,” said West Haven High School math teacher Joanie Amato, AFTCT’s representative to the working group. “The effects of poor indoor air quality in schools range from cold and allergy symptoms to personality changes and lasting impacts on academic achievement. Worst of all, when these issues go unaddressed, students and teachers risk developing permanent, lifelong disability and chronic health impacts.”
Recalling a day two years ago when the Legislative Office Building closed because the air conditioning system had failed and temperatures became uncomfortable, Dias noted, “If that’s the standard we want in this building, it should be the standard for our children in their buildings.”
