By Janice Guider
What if we knew that environmental
hazards such as air and water pollution, lead exposure, plastic pollution, extreme
heat, and poor air quality influence the health and the academic performance of
our students? What if we did nothing to mitigate diseases or neurodivergent
disorders associated with ambient air pollution? What if we knew that pregnant
women and children are especially vulnerable to
environmental hazards affecting in utero development, as well as young,
developing bodies of children and their behaviors? What outcomes could we
reasonably foresee in this vulnerable population if we, the adults in the room,
stood by idling in a plume of knowledge and did nothing?
The Environment and Certainty
From an early age, mitigating triggers
for respiratory illness in the Birth-to-Five population and certain
neurodivergent disorders associated with ambient air pollution will lead to a
reduction in chronic disease that often results in higher absenteeism rates and
suboptimal performance in school. Asthma, for which there is no cure, is a
long-term or chronic disease that will impact a student's ability to function
from early childhood through late high school. According to Martin (2022),
"Poor asthma control is associated with a number of negative effects on
children and families. For example, they are more likely to be absent from
school, have additional educational needs, and have lower educational
attainment. Caregivers also experience missed workdays and financial challenges
as a result. Some children will experience severe symptoms and life-threatening
attacks."
Research shows that children who don't
develop effective learning skills by the third grade are more prone to have
conduct or behavioral disorders that result in school expulsion. The
school-to-prison pipeline is rooted in this causality, fueled by disparities
that ultimately negatively affect all communities.
Our Children’s Caregivers
As responsible caregivers, parents,
educators, physicians, nurses, and environmentalists, we have the
responsibility and choice to shift the paradigm of environmental hazards and
the implications that lead to suboptimal health and academic outcomes. The opportunity
to build a collective voice to codify protections from environmental hazards
impacting our students is upon us. New York, California, and Oregon have
already done this.
For nearly two years, a small and
growing collaborative has been addressing the transition of our students from
diesel-fueled buses to cleaner forms of energy, specifically electric. In
partnership with the Environmental Law and Policy Center, WRI (World Resources
Institute), Educator Collective for Environmental Justice, American Federation
of Teachers, Climate Jobs Illinois, and EHAN (Equity in Health Advisors
Network) presented "Linking Environmental Health and Student Success: A
Cleaner Commute" on Thursday, July 31, 2025. Educators in New York, along with
Dr. Andrea Pappalardo, Allergist-Immunologist, Internist, and Pediatrician at
UIC School of Medicine and UI Health, presented on the seriousness of this
"Link."
Cleaning up school transportation is
an opportunity to prevent acute respiratory diseases and, as more studies show,
some neurodivergent disorders in students, and improve academic outcomes for
students.
A Hazardous Breathing Zone or
Playground
As you drive past your community's
elementary school and observe familiar yellow buses transporting students, do
you consider this a "hazardous breathing zone?" We applaud those
schools that now have idling rules as a first step. Compared to non-idling
rules, the unintended consequence of requiring a diesel-fueled bus to restart
its engine produces more harmful emissions. These rules do not protect our most
vulnerable students transported on ADA-compliant buses equipped with a
wheelchair lift, as the concentration of diesel exhaust is higher inside the
bus.
Environment is a Significant
Influencer
Educators who understand the factors
that influence disease risk associated with ambient air pollution and the
consequential burden on their students should advocate for minimizing the risks
of asthma, bronchitis, and other acute respiratory illnesses in the student
population by promoting greener spaces around schools. This burden
disproportionately impacts the health and academic outcomes of minority
students, particularly Black African American students, regardless of their zip
codes.
In closing, air pollution acts as a
toxin, promoting inflammatory responses that can cascade into
neuroinflammation, dysregulation, and neurodegeneration. Chronic stress may
impair cognitive capacity, leading to poor choices or decision-making in
students. The prevalence of aggressive behaviors in students beyond early
childhood may transfer across the spectrum of a student's academic experience,
including the likelihood of not completing a basic education through high
school. Air pollution contributes to the causality.
Advocacy is crucial to improving the
health of individual students, teachers, families, and communities. As
awareness of environmental hazards to students improves, so will the education
of students to understand opportunities for participation in creating greener,
healthier spaces in society. Such opportunities will contribute to driving
optimal health and academic outcomes.
Hypothetically…
What if we do absolutely nothing,
knowing the dangers of environmental hazards to our children? What is the
realistic expectation? In contrast, we may contribute to giving our students a
greater opportunity for optimal health and academic outcomes in a cleaner
environment. Transitioning to electric school buses is just a start. And an
impactful change.
Janice F Guider, MPH, CHES®
River Prairie Group/Sierra Club
