Investing in Healthy, Green Schools is Central to Advancing Equity
Using COVID relief funds to advance healthy, green schools is an opportunity to address systemic inequity in student access to high-quality learning environments and to ensure all students have the tools to thrive in a green economy and promote climate justice.
“In less-resourced districts, in less-resourced communities, the communities that were most impacted by the pandemic, those are the places where we see older run-down buildings... It’s an issue of equity for me in terms of making sure that all students have a safe learning environment...”
As recent history has underscored, the challenges of a global pandemic or changing climate do not land in the same way on all of us. Just as the COVID pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities in health, housing, financial security, and working conditions, the changing climate is a present and heightened threat to vulnerable populations. The Biden Administration is advancing climate justice through its government-wide Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40% of the benefits from relevant investments to disadvantaged communities and make environmental justice a part of the mission of every federal agency.
District leaders have powerful opportunities to put equity at the center as they guide a monumental federal investment in our K-12 sector. The Department of Education has expressly directed states and districts to advance spending plans that will meet the needs of “those students disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, and migratory students.”
Five Guiding Principles: How Schools Can Use American Rescue Plan Funding to Ensure Healthy, Resilient Facilities for Students and Reduce Energy Costs and Emissions provides actionable information for school districts as they consider how to use these funds.
This six-page brief expands on the “Investing in Healthy, Green Schools is Central to Advancing Equity” principle with examples from the field, questions to ask, resources to inform local decision-making, and opportunities for district action.
We encourage you to download, share, and discuss within your community.
