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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
13-P-0201
March 27, 2013
Why We Did This Review
The Office of Inspector General
of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency conducted this
evaluation to determine how
effectively the EPA ensures the
environment in schools is healthy
for children. Specifically, we
looked at how the EPA
implements its school
environmental health programs to
protect children's health.
More than 60 million students
and teachers attend over 130,000
public and private schools in the
United States. Poor
environmental conditions in
schools can inhibit learning,
increase absenteeism, and pose
increased risks to children's
health.
In fiscal year 2011, the agency
launched the Clean Green and
Healthy Schools initiative to
support states and communities
promoting healthier school
environments. The initiative's
vision is that children "will grow,
learn and play in clean, green,
and healthy schools."
This report addresses the
following EPA Goal or
Cross-Cutting Strategy:
• Working for environmental
justice and children's health.
For further information, contact
our Office of Congressional and
Public Affairs at (202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2013/
20130327-13-P-0201.pdf
The EPA Needs to Improve Management of Its
School Environmental Health Efforts
What We Found
The EPA established children's health as a priority. The EPA's work on
environmental health in schools includes educating school officials about
asbestos risks, developing a compliance tool for schools with drinking water
violations, and providing grants. Further, many states base their laws for indoor
air quality in schools on the EPA's work and tools.
The EPA created the Clean Green and Healthy Schools initiative to promote
healthier school environments. However, the initiative lacks necessary
management controls to ensure that the EPA provides consistent
implementation of the program across the United States. The agency recently
developed some measures for the initiative, but those measures are not
specific enough to demonstrate program outcomes. In addition, regional staff
may not be able to collect the data needed to determine how the initiative is
improving environmental health in schools.
As the EPA works to improve initiative management, the agency needs to take
into account the impact that funding reductions may have on its school
environmental health efforts. The EPA has reduced funding for the CGHS
initiative, as well as reduced or eliminated funding for some related school
environmental health programs. Most notably, the EPA eliminated funding for
its Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools program, even though school personnel
nationwide use the tools. Because of funding reductions, the EPA cut the
scope of activities originally planned under the CGHS initiative, further reducing
needed services to schools.
Finally, the EPA did not meet all requirements of the Healthy High-Performance
Schools subtitle of the Energy Independence and Security Act. The agency
was nearly 3 years late issuing school environmental health guidelines for
states, which delayed assistance to the states. The EPA also did not report
annually, resulting in Congress being uninformed about delays.
Recommendations and Planned Agency Corrective Actions
The EPA should improve management controls for the CGHS initiative. This
includes better planning, measures, and data collection procedures to ensure
consistent regional implementation. The agency should also comply fully with
the Energy Independence and Security Act. Finally, the EPA should regularly
review its school environmental health programs to determine whether the
agency provides sufficient regulatory and voluntary program services to
address the risks to children's health in schools.
The agency agreed to all recommendations and provided corrective actions
and completion dates. The recommendations remain open with corrective
actions ongoing. No further response to this report is required.

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