Category: Federal Government Actions

EPA Announces the “Clean Air in Buildings Challenge” to Help Building Owners and Operators Improve Indoor Air Quality and Protect Public Health (March 20, 2022)

On March 17, 2022, as part of President Biden’s National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan released March 3rd, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the “Clean Air in Buildings Challenge,” a call to action and a concise set of guiding principles and actions to assist building owners and operators with reducing risks from airborne viruses and other contaminants indoors. The Clean Air in Buildings Challenge highlights a range of recommendations and resources available to assist with improving ventilation and indoor air quality, which can help to better protect the health of building occupants and reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread.

“Protecting our public health means improving our indoor air quality. Today, EPA is following through on President Biden’s plan to move our nation forward in a healthy, sustainable way as we fight COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic, building managers and facility staff have been on the frontlines implementing approaches to protect and improve indoor air quality to reduce risks and keep their occupants safe and healthy, and we are so grateful for their efforts,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The Clean Air in Buildings Challenge is an important part of helping us all to breathe easier.”

Infectious diseases like COVID-19 can spread through the inhalation of airborne particles and aerosols. In addition to other layered prevention strategies like vaccination, actions to improve ventilation, filtration and other proven air cleaning strategies can reduce the risk of exposure to particles, aerosols, and other contaminants, and improve indoor air quality and the health of building occupants.

Key actions outlined in the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge include:

  • Create a clean indoor air action plan,
  • Optimize fresh air ventilation,
  • Enhance air filtration and cleaning, and
  • Conduct community engagement, communication and education.

While the recommended actions cannot completely eliminate risks, they will reduce them. The Clean Air in Buildings Challenge presents options and best practices for building owners and operators to choose from, and the best combination of actions for a building will vary by space and location. Such steps would depend upon public health guidance; who and how many people are in the building; the activities that occur in the building; outdoor air quality; climate; weather conditions; the installed heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment; and other factors. American Rescue PlanExit and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds can be used to supplement investments in ventilation and indoor air quality improvements in public settings.

EPA and the White House COVID-19 Response Team consulted with the Centers for Disease Control, the Department of Energy, and several other Federal agencies with roles in promoting healthy indoor air quality in buildings to develop the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge.  Today’s announcement also highlights an array of resources to help building owners and operators meet the Challenge.  The document will be made available in Spanish, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, Arabic and Russian.

More information on the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge is available at Clean Air in Buildings Challenge.

USDE Issues Guidance On How IDEA Applies To Private Schools (March 14, 2022)

The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has issued a new 55-page Q&A document providing guidance regarding the role of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) when parents opt to send their children with disabilities to private school. Students with disabilities have broad rights when they attend public school, but federal officials are now weighing in on how the law applies when parents choose private school instead. Although under IDEA students with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE), whether or not that entitlement extends to children at private schools depends.

In some cases, children enrolled at public schools are placed at private schools by their parents when they do not believe that FAPE has been provided by the local school district. In other cases, children are sent to private schools by their district as a means of providing FAPE.

According to the USDE, the document updates and supersedes guidance previously issued in 2011 and applies specifically to a third category of kids — those placed in private school by their families without first enrolling at public school and for whom FAPE is not an issue. In these cases, federal officials say that some provisions of IDEA still apply.

To read more, click here.

To view the USDE document, click here.

Congress Ends USDA School Meal Waivers (March 13, 2022)

Universal school meals emerged out of pandemic-era waivers designed to help feed hungry children during the crisis. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) waivers allowed all K-12 students, rather than only those eligible for free and reduced-price meals, to get free school breakfast and lunch no matter their family’s income from March 2020 through the 2021-22 school year. 

With those waivers set to expire June 30, 2022, school nutrition advocates had urged Congress for an extension in the federal fiscal 2022 spending bill. But that didn’t happen, as an appropriations bill without the waivers passed the House Wednesday night (3/9/22) and then the Senate Thursday night (3/10/22). The bill now awaits President Joe Biden’s signature.

Not only will universal school meals come to a screeching halt this summer, but schools will also lose flexibilities and increased reimbursement rates that USDA provided through other waivers to help district nutrition programs cope with supply chain woes. 

The cost for Congress to continue USDA’s waiver authority in this spending bill was estimated at $11 billion, Politico reported. 

To read more from K-12 Dive, click here.

Sec. Cardona Releases Statement on One-Year Anniversary of the American Rescue Plan (March 13, 2022)

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021 and exactly one year later U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona highlighted its impacts on America’s schools in the following statement:

“When President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, the Department of Education went straight to work delivering an unprecedented $130 billion to help schools safely reopen and welcome nearly 100 percent of America’s K-12 students back into the classroom for in-person learning. We also delivered tens of billions of dollars to begin closing longstanding equity gaps in higher education and help our colleges and universities invest in COVID-19 testing and campus safety, keep tuitions stable, and provide financially struggling students with direct assistance to stay enrolled. Today, the Department is advising state and local leaders on how they can continue leveraging American Rescue Plan funds to establish new summer and afterschool programs; grow and strengthen a talented and diverse educator workforce; and invest in tutors, counselors, and other school staff who can lessen the burden on teachers and help tend to our children’s social, emotional, and mental health needs. From kindergarten to high school to college and careers, our North Star remains clear: a robust and equitable recovery that ensures every student is able to succeed and pursue their dreams.” The White House also issued a fact sheet to celebrate the impact ARP funds are having in classrooms. Featuring highlights from across the country, the fact sheet outlines how ARP dollars helped schools safely re-open and are addressing the academic and mental health needs of students. You can view that fact sheet at:  FACT SHEET: How The American Rescue Plan Is Keeping America’s Schools Open Safely, Combating Learning Loss, And Addressing Student Mental Health | The White House

CDC Provides New Mask-Wearing Recommendations (February 26, 2022)

New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that 70 percent of Americans can now stop wearing masks, and no longer need to social distance or avoid crowded indoor spaces. The recommendations, published on February 25, 2022,  no longer exclusively rely on the number of cases in a community to determine the need for restrictions such as mask wearing. The new approach is for counties to take into account three methods for assessing the level risk regarding the virus:

1. New COVID-related hospital admissions over the previous week;
2. the percentage of hospital beds occupied by patients with COVID; and
3. New COVID cases per 100,000 people over the previous week.

Based on the above three factors, counties can calculate whether there is a is low, medium, or high risk to their residents. Only areas of high risk should require everyone to wear a mask. However, unvaccinated people should wear masks, even in low-risk areas.

To view the CDC guidelines, click here.