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U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko (NY-21) introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives Monday designating April 27, 2009 as National Healthy Schools Day.

National Healthy Schools Day, sponsored by the Healthy Schools Network, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, is a series of events held across the country to promote a healthy environment inside our children’s schools, which includes improving air quality and making school buildings more energy efficient.

“Providing children a healthy environment in which to learn is critically important,” said Rep. Tonko. “Poor environmental quality has been linked to asthma and other illnesses in our children. We need to reduce these environmental hazards and at the same time make our schools more energy efficient.”

More than half of the nation’s schools have problems with indoor air quality, which can have adverse effects on children, leading to poor concentration, learning difficulties, respiratory illnesses, and even cancer.

For more information go to the National Healthy Schools website:

http://www.nationalhealthyschoolsday.org/

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