PUBLIC HEALTH SKIPS AT SCHOOL?

[Guest guest]

: EMBARGOED-- FOR RELEASE 8 AM EDT, THURSDAY, MAY 9TH.

:

: HEALTHY SCHOOLS NETWORK, INC.

:

: PRESS RELEASE: FOR Thursday, May 9, 2002, 8 AM EDT

:

: For information: Barnett, 518-573-5878; Boese, 518-428-0692

:

:

: WHERE IS PUBLIC HEALTH?

: New Guide Helps Parents and Personnel Use Federal Laws

:

: (New York, NY, Olympia, WA) Advocates for healthy children and

: healthy schools in several states joined today in urging schools to honor

: student and personnel needs for healthier school environments. " Public

health

: should not stop at the schoolhouse door. Schools are children's

workplaces " ,

: said Barnett, Executive Director of Healthy Schools Network,

speaking

: at the Washington State Environmental Health Association's 57th annual

: education conference in Olympia, WA yesterday.

:

: Barnett urged strengthening and sustaining more state advocacy coalitions

to

: improve environmental conditions and practices of schools, as groups in

: Washington, New York, and Massachusetts, and other states have done. The

: outbreak of school rashes in the last year, the lack of baseline

information

: about children's exposures, and the epidemic of indoor pollution in

schools,

: and the absence of student health monitoring, especially at Ground Zero in

: New York City, were all cited during the presentation. " Environmental

health

: protection is not even on the list when children are in school " , she

: commented.

:

: Schools Are Children's Workplaces

: At a New York City Conference today on Environmental and Occupational

Health

: After 9/11, Boese, New York State Director of Healthy Schools

hosted

: a schools workgroup, adding " Unlike adult employees, New York State's 3

: million public school students have virtually no rights to environmentally

: safe schools. State and local public health agencies must have an active

role

: in setting standards for children and be available in times of crisis to

: protect them. " As one example, Boese noted that school employees

reoccupying

: schools near Ground Zero could file a grievance and call for a federal

: investigation of worker health, while the parents of the thousands of

: children - from elementary to high school age, including children with

: pre-existing health problems and disabilities-- exposed to the same

: pollutants had no such recourse and no monitoring.

:

: New Guide Helps Parents Use Existing Federal Laws

: Noting that children are more vulnerable to pollutants, that schools are

: filled with asthma triggers, and that every asthmatic is instructed to

avoid

: triggers, Healthy Schools Network published a new guide to facility access

: " Protecting Vulnerable Children in 'Sick' Schools " . Author of the new

guide

: Ellie Goldberg, MS, of Healthy Kids: The Key to Basics in Newton, MA said,

: " It is time to understand and to prevent, instead of treat, chronic

illnesses

: in children. Poor school air quality disadvantages all students, but those

: with asthma and other environmentally triggered disorders are the most

: victimized when school officials ignore unhealthy conditions or health

: problems. Parents need to know that they have rights: Section 504 of the

: federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is one tool that can help. "

:

: Barnett added, " There are schools that do things right the first time. But

: when common sense isn't available, we suggest affected individuals try

: exercising their rights. According to federal studies, more than 14

million

: children are compelled to attend schools with polluted indoor air. Asthma

is

: the leading cause of school absenteeism due to chronic illness.

:

: Two parents who have requested " Section 504 " protection added their

thoughts.

: Westin of Windham, NY said, " The 504 program is a good option for

: parents whose children have been made ill by their schools. Unfortunately,

: not enough schools tell parents that there are requirements or even help

out

: in these difficult situations. " Veronika Carella, a parent and child

health

: advocate from Glenwood, MD said, " Every child deserves to learn in an

: environment free from harm, discrimination and harassment. Sadly, some

: children can only win this right through the implementation of a 504 Plan.

: Some school systems do only what they are legally required to do, so

: sometimes they must be forced legally to do the right thing for a child

with

: special needs. "

:

: " The number of students and educators suffering long-term health effects

from

: indoor pollution in our schools continues to rise, " according to

: Lamielle, Executive Director of the National Center for Environmental

Health

: Strategies. This new guide will generate greater awareness of options

: available to parents and educators to protect children and to facilitate

: access for the estimated 2-4% of the general population with chemical

: sensitivities and related problems. "

:

: Healthy Schools Network, Inc. is a not for profit research, information,

: education, and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting child

: environmental health at school. Based in Albany, it has won new policies,

: funds, and regulations for school statewide, and operates the Healthy

: Schools/Healthy Kids Clearinghouse to help parents, schools, and community

: groups improve environments for children. Hundreds of local and state

groups

: have assisted; last year, two parents who used the Clearinghouse spurred

: their schools to win national awards from US EPA. The Network has also

: helped secure $1.2 billion in federal funds for school health & safety

: repairs; last winter, it won enactment of the federal " Healthy and High

: Performance Schools Act " . President Bush has failed to renew federal funds

: for repairing schools; the Administration, while promising action on child

: environmental health, has yet to implement the provisions of the new

federal

: legislation.

:

: The new guide can be downloaded or ordered from www.healthyschools.org.

For

: a discussion or more help with accessible school facilities, see

: www.healthy-kids.org/info, see www.ed.gov/offices/OCR/docs/howto.html or

see

: www.edfacilities.org and look for Publications of the federally-sponsored

: National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.

:

: - 30 --

:

:

: L. Barnett, Executive Director

: Healthy Schools Network, Inc.

: 773 Madison Avenue

: Albany, NY 12208

: www.healthyschools.org

: T- 518-462-0632, F-0433

:

: ....research, information, and advocacy for schools that are

environmentally

: responsible to children, to personnel, and to their communities....

: