Clean Air Sharp Minds Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6025 To improve the health and academic achievement of students in highly polluted environments, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 28, 2020 Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Com- mittee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To improve the health and academic achievement of students in highly polluted environments, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clean Air Sharp Minds 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 6 The purposes of this Act are— 7 (1) to improve the health and academic achieve- 8 ment of students in highly polluted environments; 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6025 IH (2) to demonstrate the impacts of clean air at 1 school on student learning and well-being; and 2 (3) to support the Nation’s schools to advance 3 environmental justice. 4 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 5 Congress finds the following: 6 (1) Substantial research demonstrates that air 7 pollution negatively impacts health and cognition. 8 (2) More than 1 in 5 public schools in the 9 United States are located within a mile of a toxic re- 10 lease site. Nearly 1 in 11 public schools, serving 11 4,400,000 students, are less than 500 feet from a 12 major road. 13 (3) According to a 2017 report, 4 percent of 14 schools serving predominantly White students are 15 next to major roads, while 15 percent of schools 16 serving largely students of color are next to major 17 roads. 18 (4) Indoor levels of air pollutants can be 2 to 19 5 times higher, and sometimes 100 times higher, 20 than outdoor levels. In 2014, nearly half of schools 21 in the United States reported having problems re- 22 lated to indoor air quality. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6025 IH (5) Schools in poor repair may have additional 1 air quality problems, including lead, asbestos, dust, 2 and radon contamination. 3 (6) Poor indoor air quality increases the risk of 4 severe asthma attacks and allergic reactions. Asthma 5 is the leading cause of missed school days in the 6 United States. 7 (7) High-performance air filters can decrease 8 indoor particulate matter by 90 percent. 9 (8) Research demonstrates the potential for 10 school air filters to improve student learning. In 11 2016, commercial air filters were installed in every 12 classroom, office, and common area of 18 public 13 schools in Los Angeles. Controlling for student de- 14 mographics, mathematics test scores at these schools 15 improved dramatically, nearly matching the impact 16 of reducing class sizes by a third, and gains per- 17 sisted the following the year. 18 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 21 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 22 mental Protection Agency. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6025 IH (2) COMMERCIAL AIR FILTER.—The term 1 ‘‘commercial air filter’’ means an air filter unit 2 that— 3 (A) removes particulate matter (including 4 mold, smoke, dust, lead, soot, and allergens 5 from pests) and gaseous pollutants (including 6 carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and volatile or- 7 ganic compounds); 8 (B) does not produce any ozone; 9 (C) meets the American Society of Heat- 10 ing, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engi- 11 neers (ASHRAE) Minimum Efficiency Report- 12 ing Value (MERV) of 13 (or the equivalent, 13 using a different rating system); and 14 (D) contains activated carbon (charcoal) 15 and a HEPA particle filter. 16 (3) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘eligible 17 school’’ means a public elementary school or sec- 18 ondary school, as such terms are defined in section 19 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 20 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 21 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en- 22 vironmental justice’’ means the fair treatment and 23 meaningful involvement of all individuals, regardless 24 of race, color, national origin, educational level, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6025 IH income, with respect to the development, implemen- 1 tation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regu- 2 lations, and policies to ensure that— 3 (A) populations of color, communities of 4 color, indigenous communities, and low-income 5 communities have access to public information 6 and opportunities for meaningful public partici- 7 pation relating to human health and environ- 8 mental planning, regulations, and enforcement; 9 (B) no population of color or community of 10 color, indigenous community, or low-income 11 community shall be exposed to a dispropor- 12 tionate burden of the negative human health 13 and environmental impacts of pollution or other 14 environmental hazards; and 15 (C) the ‘‘17 Principles of Environmental 16 Justice’’, written and adopted at the First Na- 17 tional People of Color Environmental Leader- 18 ship Summit held on October 24 through 27, 19 1991, in Washington, DC, are upheld. 20 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 21 the Secretary of Education. 22 SEC. 5. DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 24 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Ad- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6025 IH ministrator shall enter into a memorandum of under- 1 standing to jointly administer the School Air Filters Dem- 2 onstration Program described in this section for a 3-year 3 period. 4 (b) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS.— 5 (1) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS.—Not 6 later than 12 months after the date of enactment of 7 this Act, the Secretary and the Administrator shall 8 select a minimum of 175 eligible schools to partici- 9 pate in the School Air Filters Demonstration Pro- 10 gram. 11 (2) PRIORITY.—In selecting eligible schools 12 under this subsection, the Secretary and the Admin- 13 istrator shall do so with the purpose of advancing 14 environmental justice, giving priority— 15 (A) first, to eligible schools that are lo- 16 cated in a nonattainment area for PM2.5, 17 PM10, or ozone; 18 (B) second, to eligible schools that have 19 school facilities that pose a severe health and 20 safety threat to students and staff; and 21 (C) third, to eligible schools that have a 22 high concentration of students from a low-in- 23 come family. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6025 IH (3) CONSIDERATIONS IN SELECTION.—In se- 1 lecting eligible schools under this subsection, the 2 Secretary and the Administrator— 3 (A) shall seek to select eligible schools that 4 represent— 5 (i) a mix of elementary schools, mid- 6 dle schools, and high schools; and 7 (ii) a mix of urban, suburban, and 8 rural schools; and 9 (B) may consider any other eligibility re- 10 quirements that the Secretary and the Adminis- 11 trator determine are necessary to carry out the 12 purposes of this Act. 13 (c) AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE.—The Secretary 14 and the Administrator shall seek to enter into a written 15 agreement with each eligible school selected under sub- 16 section (b) to ensure that the eligible school desires to par- 17 ticipate in the School Air Filters Demonstration Program. 18 The Secretary and the Administrator shall carry out the 19 activities under subsection (d) only with respect to partici- 20 pating eligible schools that enter into such an agreement. 21 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Ad- 23 ministrator shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6025 IH (A) purchase commercial air filters for the 1 buildings of each participating eligible school; 2 (B) install a commercial air filter in every 3 classroom, office, and common area that stu- 4 dents access in each such school; 5 (C) maintain those air filters for a period 6 of 3 years, including by ensuring the replace- 7 ment of the internal carbon filters of those air 8 filters according to a frequency as indicated by 9 the manufacturer; 10 (D) provide technical support to eligible 11 schools participating in the program, including 12 training school staff on how to properly use the 13 air filters; and 14 (E) using not more than 3.5 percent of the 15 funds appropriated under subsection (f), collect, 16 analyze, and submit data that is necessary for 17 the report and evaluation described in sub- 18 section (e). 19 (2) USE OF CONTRACTOR.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 21 graph (B), the activities described in subpara- 22 graphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (1) may be 23 carried out by an entity that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6025 IH (i) has a contract to do so with the 1 Administrator; and 2 (ii) has a State or local license or cer- 3 tification from a relevant professional or- 4 ganization allowing the entity to install 5 and maintain air filter units. 6 (B) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREE- 7 MENT.—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if 8 a school or local educational agency’s collective 9 bargaining agreement stipulates that a school 10 staff member carry out the activities described 11 in subparagraph (B) or (C) of paragraph (1), 12 the Administrator shall coordinate with the 13 local educational agency to arrange for school 14 staff to carry out those activities. Nothing in 15 this Act shall be construed to interfere with a 16 collective bargaining agreement. 17 (e) REPORTS AND EVALUATION.— 18 (1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The Secretary and the 19 Administrator shall prepare and submit to Congress 20 an annual report containing— 21 (A) metrics that demonstrate the indoor 22 air quality (at a minimum, PM2.5 levels, as 23 well as any other air pollutants that the Admin- 24 istrator determines necessary to test) at 3 loca- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Mar 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6025 IH tions within each participating eligible school 1 before installation of the commercial air filters, 2 and subsequently twice per academic year, en- 3 suring that the locations of that testing are 4 kept consistent for each test; 5 (B) the pollutants that are captured by the 6 air filters at participating eligible schools, as 7 determined by annual tests conducted on the 8 used air filters; 9 (C) metrics that demonstrate the academic 10 outcomes of students at each participating eligi- 11 ble school (including standardized test scores); 12 (D) rates of suspension at each partici- 13 pating eligible school; and 14 (E) rates of school absence by students 15 and staff at each participating eligible school, 16 including rates of school absence relating to 17 asthma and other health measures. 18 (2) EVALUATION.—At the end of the 3-year 19 School Air Filters Demonstration Program, the Sec- 20 retary and the Administrator shall prepare and sub- 21 mit a report to Congress that includes an evaluation 22 of the effectiveness of the School Air Filters Dem- 23 onstration Program, including an analysis of the im- 24 pact of the commercial air filters on student aca- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Mar 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6025 IH demic achievement and well-being, and on the pro- 1 gram’s potential to advance environmental justice. 2 The evaluation shall include recommendations based 3 on the findings from the School Air Filters Dem- 4 onstration Program. 5 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 6 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 7 $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2021. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:26 Mar 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6025.IH H6025 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS