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It’s an issue that saw decades of slow progress amid worsening pollution issues, with testing to show dirty air outside drifts inside classrooms even if windows and doors are closed. That’s of particular concern for Southern California students, parents, teachers and other school staff, since the prevalence of busy freeways, ports, airports and other pollution sources is linked to a range of health and developmental issues.
The issue finally got real attention and funding during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Districts like Los Angeles Unified spent big to upgrade HVAC systems, buy portable purifiers and more. And schools everywhere were eligible for millions in funding to help address ventilation issues, with some budgeting to spend on indoor air quality plans. But as pandemic concerns fade, Roxana and I learned that some plans to boost air quality in Southern California schools also are falling by the wayside. Other schools apparently didn’t focus much effort or funds on that solution at all, with big loopholes in a state law that kicked in Jan. 1 requiring filtration upgrades. When I asked East Whittier City School District, for example, for information about what they’ve done to improve air quality in schools in recent years, a spokesman for the district said they’d pass on the request to comment. When I asked why, he responded, “We just don’t currently have any information to share that would add value to the story.”— and hitting their budgets hard. So clean air advocates say districts should not be backing away from efforts to improve indoor air quality. Instead, they say they should be layering solutions such as improved HVAC filtration and air purifiers, which are rarely deployed together. Other ideas that came up in working on included consolidated oversight at the state level and requiring routine air quality testing and monitoring with CO2 sensors.
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