III 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 535 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 28, 2008 Mr. Reid (for Mrs. Clinton) (for herself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Bayh, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. Casey) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing April 28, 2008, as National Healthy Schools Day.

Whereas over half of schools in the United States have problems linked to indoor air quality; Whereas children are more vulnerable to environmental hazards as they breathe in more air per pound of body weight due to their developing systems; Whereas children spend an average of 30 to 50 hours per week in school; Whereas poor indoor environmental quality is associated with a wide range of problems that include poor concentration, respiratory illnesses, learning difficulties, and cancer; Whereas research suggests that children attending schools in poor condition score 11 percent lower on standardized tests than students who attend schools in good condition; Whereas an average of 1 out of every 13 school-age children has asthma, the leading cause of school absenteeism, accounting for approximately 14,700,000 missed school days each year; Whereas 17 separate studies all found positive health impacts from improved indoor air-quality, ranging from 13.5 percent up to 87 percent improvement; Whereas our Nation's schools spent approximately $8,000,000,000 on energy costs in the last school year, causing officials to make very difficult decisions on cutting back much needed academic programs in efforts to maintain heat and electricity; Whereas healthy and high performance schools designed to reduce energy and maintenance costs, provide cleaner air, improve lighting, and reduce exposures to toxic substances provide a healthier and safer learning environment for children and improved academic achievement and well-being; Whereas green and healthy schools save on average $100,000 per year on energy costs, enough to hire 2 teachers, buy 200 new computers, or purchase 5,000 new textbooks; Whereas converting all the Nation's schools to green schools would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 33,200,000 metric tons; Whereas Congress has demonstrated its interest in this compelling issue by including the Healthy High-Performance Schools Program in the No Child Left Behind Act and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007; and Whereas our schools have the great responsibility of guiding the future of our children and our Nation: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate recognizes April 28, 2008, as National Healthy Schools Day.