NASBE Recruits Five States for Healthy School Facilities Network

The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) seeks applicants to participate in a new Healthy School Facilities (HSF) Network to build and enhance the capacity of states to provide healthy school facilities. Our goal for the Network is to help participating state boards of education form collaborative teams of state and local experts to analyze state-level data and programming, convene stakeholders, and take targeted, concrete actions toward creating healthy school facilities free from environmental harms (e.g., lead in drinking water, asbestos, poor ventilation) which have detrimental effects on student health and learning. The deadline to apply to the HSF Network is Friday, September 16.

A 2021 NASBE landscape analysis of state-level programs for testing lead in school drinking water found states encounter challenges in the areas of outreach and coordination, transparent communication, data collection and management, and technical and financial support. With the right consensus building, planning, strategy co-design, and implementation support, states can address these challenges and ensure that each and every student learns in a building able to meet their basic needs and contribute to academic success and that staff can operate in a safe workplace.

The HSF Network will help states increase access to healthy school facilities over a 9-month period (September 2022 – June 2023) by:

• Building a shared understanding of the role physical learning environments have on student health and academic success;
• Convening state teams for cross-state collaboration, information sharing, and briefings by national experts, researchers, and federal officials;
• Facilitating enhanced communication between federal, state, and local partners to address state specific challenges and leverage federal funds for facility improvements;
• Offering guidance on the alignment between the state’s current/ongoing school facilities improvement efforts, state strategic plan, and federal funding opportunities;
• Providing technical assistance, research, and supporting action plan development;
• Elevating examples of state leadership and success in publications, during public webinars and national conversations.

NASBE will select five states to participate, and each state will receive a grant of $10,000 to support staff work time and to convene in-state stakeholder meetings. This grant will support stakeholder engagement to create buy-in as well as spur conversations around enhancing the state’s school facility improvement efforts.

Read more about the full RFA process, criteria for applying, and project activities below. The deadline to apply is Friday, September 16. Please contact NASBE Director of Safe and Healthy Schools Megan Blanco with questions.