On Aug. 22, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the five selected recipients of $34 million in grant funding to address indoor air pollution in schools. These five selected applications will fund proposed initiatives to monitor and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and indoor air pollution at schools from kindergarten through grade 12 in low-income, disadvantaged, and Tribal communities across the country. These grants to protect children’s health are made possible through the President’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action and environmental justice in history.

“Children spend so much of their day in school. It is critical for their health and academic success that schools have clean and healthy air,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “These grants will put schools in the best position to improve attendance and academic achievement, while addressing the unique and disproportionate health impacts that children in overburdened communities face as a result of indoor air quality challenges.”

EPA anticipates that grants to the five selected applicants will be finalized and awarded in the fall of 2024 once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied and that selected applicants will begin their projects shortly thereafter.

The Go Green Initiative will partner with the National School Boards Association and their state affiliates to provide education and training for school staff, administrators, and school board officials involved in improving school indoor air quality and reducing climate pollution across all 50 states, as well as providing targeted, intensive technical assistance and capacity building in Tribal and low-income school districts in all 10 EPA regions.

To learn more, read the press release.