As part of the American Rescue Plan, educational funding can provide over $274 billion in support for schools — the largest investment ever in the history of primary and secondary education.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, U.S. legislators allocated more than $200 billion to school districts to improve safety and student achievement. The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) legislation specifically permits using these funds for the “testing, repairing and upgrading projects to improve air quality in school buildings.”
According to a recent study from Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, "School Ventilation: A Vital Tool to Reduce COVID-19 Spread," ventilation improvements in K-12 schools are a cost-effective public health measure.
Though the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, most of our nearly 100,000 public schools across the country have opened full-time again to ensure a sense of normalcy for both children and their parents.