Improving School Infrastructure for Healthier Students and Communities

Public school infrastructure in the United States suffers from decades of underinvestment, leading to poor indoor air quality and health issues like asthma, which disproportionately affect low-income communities and communities of color. While recent funding and tax credits have provided some relief, the document urges Congress and governors to further prioritize clean energy, energy efficiency, electric school buses, and green school grounds to modernize facilities and create community resilience hubs.

• Persistent underfunding of K-12 public school facilities has created a gap between actual spending on maintenance and operations and the investment required for safe environments, resulting in poor ventilation and indoor air quality linked to asthma and decreased academic performance.
• The negative impacts of underinvestment in school buildings, grounds, and transportation are felt most acutely by low-income communities and communities of color.
• To modernize infrastructure and improve student well-being, the document recommends that Congress maintain energy tax credits and deploy funds for the Clean School Bus Program and Urban and Community Forestry, while governors should implement zero emission vehicle requirements and support solar energy and green school yards.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Improving School Infrastructure for Healthier Students and Communities. https://www.wri.org/research/improving-school-infrastructure-healthier-students-and-communities

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Improving School Infrastructure for Healthier Students and Communities. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/improving-school-infrastructure-healthier-students-and-communities.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Improving School Infrastructure for Healthier Students and Communities |url=https://www.wri.org/research/improving-school-infrastructure-healthier-students-and-communities |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendimproving, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Improving School Infrastructure for Healthier Students and Communities}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/improving-school-infrastructure-healthier-students-and-communities}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }