U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools (ED-GRS) is a federal recognition award for school sustainability. Learn about the 2016 ED-GRS honorees’ cost-saving, health promoting, and performance-enhancing sustainability practices in our annual Highlights Report. 

Learn from past ED-GRS honorees.  Then apply to your state education authorities for their nomination to ED today!

This report provides examples of efforts in all three Pillars of the ED-GRS award: 1) reducing environmental impacts; 2) improving health and wellness; and 3) offering effective environmental and sustainability education.  Awardees must document progress in all of these Pillars in order to be selected for the federal recognition award.

This report provides examples of efforts in all three Pillars of the ED-GRS award: 1) reducing environmental impacts; 2) improving health and wellness; and 3) offering effective environmental and sustainability education.  Awardees must document progress in all of these Pillars in order to be selected for the federal recognition award.

Learn from past ED-GRS honorees.  Then apply to your state education authorities for their nomination to ED today!

This study explored the status of climate change education policy in the United States by analyzing the extent and type of climate change inclusion in 802 publicly available education policies from state departments or boards of education. Using a whole institution approach, researchers collected and reviewed policies from each of four domains: (1) institutional governance (e.g., strategic plans), (2) teaching and learning (e.g., state standards), (3) facilities and operations (e.g., operations plans), and (4) community partnerships (e.g., community engagement plans). This study also evaluated how holistic the approach to climate change education was by looking at inclusion of three learning dimensions: 1) cognitive (e.g., teaching the science of the greenhouse effect), (2) socio-emotional (e.g., addressing social and emotional issues such as grief and denial), and (3) action-oriented (e.g., focusing on collective justice-oriented climate action).

The study builds on prior climate change education research and underscores the importance of including climate change in education policy in all areas of institutional activity to further climate change action through education.

This design guide should be used to prioritize decisions related to Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system design and operation for both existing facilities (commissioning, maintenance, improvement, and retrofit projects) and new facilities in order to improve indoor air quality while limiting energy consumption.

The Decarbonization Roadmap Guide is written for those interested in healthy, efficient, carbon neutral school design, construction and operation. It outlines achievable goals that result in healthy, affordable, all-electric facilities, and explains common actions taken by leading districts to operationalize their carbon neutral ambitions.

EPA has created this voluntary assessment to help you reduce and prevent exposures to common environmental health hazards in your school. This fillable PDF was adapted from the quick assessment in the brochure Sensible Steps to Healthier School Environments. For more information, go to EPA's Healthy Schools website.

This brochure is designed to address some of the most common areas of environmental health concerns found in schools. It also provides one-stop access to learn some facts about these issues and the many existing low cost or no cost, affordable measures, programs and resources available to help prevent, reduce and resolve each of the highlighted environmental hazards. By completing the voluntary Quick Assessment activity provided near the end of this brochure, schools can determine which areas and programs will require more detailed attention. Additionally, by implementing the waste reduction and energy efficiency actions highlighted, schools can conserve valuable, financial resources.

Healthy school environments can affect the attendance, concentration and performance of both students and educators. This website presents information on key topics about establishing and enhancing healthy school environments.

This guide offers valuable information for all school staff, especially school nurses, teachers and maintenance staff, on how to identify and control common environmental factors in schools that trigger asthma episodes.

Promote a healthy learning environment at your school to reduce absenteeism, improve test scores and enhance student and staff productivity.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created this document to help existing and planned school communities identify strategies for reducing traffic-related pollution exposure at schools located downwind from heavily traveled roadways (such as highways), along corridors with significant truck traffic, or near other sources of significant particulate air pollution sources.  The publication has been updated from a previously released version in 2015.  New sections have been added including air quality monitoring with sensors due to the rapid increase in use and interest on this topic.

"EPA offers funding, as appropriated annually by Congress, for projects that reduce emissions from existing diesel engines. EPA also provides information on strategies for reducing emissions from older school buses. One of the easiest ways to reduce school bus emissions and save money is to reduce idling. Another effective method is to replace the oldest school buses in the fleet."

EPA is concerned that there is potential widespread use of PCB-containing building materials in schools and other buildings constructed or renovated between about 1950 and 1979. This page provides the Agency’s updated guidance for school administrators and building owners, including information about managing PCBs in building materials to help minimize possible exposures to building occupants.

This Green Cleaning, Sanitizing, and Disinfecting Toolkit provides guidance and information to early care and education (ECE) programs so they can better maintain their facilities while also reducing infectious disease.

EPA's web-based tool kit helps schools start chemical management programs that will improve their chemical management practices by: removing inappropriate, outdated, unknown and unnecessary chemicals from schools; preventing future chemical mismanagement issues in schools through training, curriculum and policy change, and long-term management solutions; and raising awareness of chemical issues in schools and promoting sustainable solutions.

This EPA webpage provides information on how to protect your family from sources of lead, including throughout a child's environment from playgrounds and older homes to drinking water and household products.

The EPA specifically designed these resources for schools (i.e., preK-12 grade). Included are interactive tools and factsheets to assist with testing your drinking water for lead, taking appropriate corrective actions and communicating program activities to your teachers and parents.

Since the 1970s, EPA and its state, tribal, and local governmental partners have made progress in reducing children’s lead exposures and lead-related health risks. EPA efforts to reduce lead exposures and prevent lead poisoning include a wide range of activities such as funding for community interventions and outreach, education and training, surveillance, and regulation and enforcement.

The New York Climate Change Science Clearinghouse (NYCCSC) is a regional gateway to data and information relevant to climate change adaptation and mitigation across New York State. It provides climate science data and literature and other resources for policy-makers, practitioners, and the public, to support scientifically sound and cost-effective decision making.

The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) created a guide for teachers that covers the basics of climate change science and perspectives on teaching the subject. The focus audience is high school Earth science and environmental science teachers. PRI also includes other toolkits, videos, and workshop information for teachers on this page.

Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU): There are 10 PEHSUs, each responsible for a different geographical region of the United States. Each PEHSU is based at an academic health institution with experts in pediatrics, allergy/immunology, neurodevelopment, toxicology, occupational and environmental medicine, nursing, reproductive health as well as other specialized areas. The PEHSUs work together to address any reproductive and children’s environmental health issue that affects families and communities, including safer disinfectant use (especially during the COVID-19 pandemic), wildfire smoke, PFAS, lead, pesticides, mold, and many more.

EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment. Children are often more vulnerable to pollutants than adults due to differences in behavior and biology, that can lead to greater exposure and/or unique windows of susceptibility during development. This site offers information about children’s environmental health.

Audio recording of school infrastructure and federal programs public listening session taken on Aug. 5, 2021.

A 2020 report by the University of California-Davis Western Cooling Efficiency Center and the Indoor Environment Group of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found over half of new HVAC systems in schools had significant problems within three years of installation, and that the vast majority of classrooms in California continue to fail to meet minimum ventilation rates. This paper presents a proposal for a Ventilation and Energy Efficiency Verification/Repair Program that would prepare schools for reopening during the COVID-19 crisis.

This program includes certifying school facilities as having functioning air ventilation and filtration systems that meet or exceed OSHA and California Energy Commission requirements, and, to the extent feasible, that meet ventilation and filtration recommendations for reopening schools set forth by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), as well as any applicable local and state agency school reopening guidance. The program would also ensure that systems are operating energy efficiently and will identify recommendations for future efficiency and safety upgrades.