Julie Kushner

Kushner Opens First Meeting Of Working Group To Study Indoor Air Quality In School Buildings

HARTFORD – State Senator Julie Kushner (D-Danbury) today kicked off the inaugural meeting of the state working group charged with studying indoor air quality in our schools – a 23-person group that includes private sector air quality companies, industrial hygienists, epidemiologists, and representatives from school boards, teachers, and towns.

Sen. Kushner is the Senate Co-Chair of the working group that was approved in the latest state budget and tasked with making recommendations by January 4, 2023 to the General Assembly related to indoor air quality in school buildings.

The group will address optimal humidity and temperature ranges to ensure healthy air and promote student learning; the threshold school air quality emergency conditions warranting temporary school closures; the criteria for rating the priority of heating, ventilation and air conditioning repair and remediation needs; optimal heating, ventilation and air conditioning system performance benchmarks for minimizing the spread of infectious disease; protocols to be used by school districts to receive, investigate and address complaints or evidence of mold, pest infestation, hazardous odors or chemicals and poor indoor air-quality; the frequency with which local school boards should be inspecting indoor air quality; and best practices for the proper maintenance of heating, ventilation and air conditions systems in school buildings.

“I think during the pandemic we all realized that we had serious issues in keeping our children, our teachers and school staff safe, and it was very challenging because we had a lot of air quality issues,” Sen. Kushner said. “But we also know it’s an ongoing issue because there are other infectious diseases and viruses that spread like wildfire in our schools which impact student health and learning and the health of our educators. So while we’ve got a big lift in front of us, I know this group is committed to finding solutions and making recommendations that are going to benefit our children, our teachers, and everyone who works in and visits our schools across Connecticut.”