Green Clean Schools Act
One of HSC's major legislative priorities for 2007 is the passage of a state law requiring schools to implement green cleaning policies. We're thrilled to report that the Green Clean Schools Act, HB 895, sailed through the Illinois House Environmental Health committee Feb. 21 with a vote of 12-0 (view press release).
Mark Bishop, HSC deputy director, and Phyllis Pelt, director of nurse certification at University of Illinois at Chicago and an HSC board member, provided testimony before the committee.
"Green cleaning is an easy, cost-effective step that can make a real difference in children's health, which we know is linked to their school attendance and to their performance in school," said Mark Bishop. "It's also tremendously important to the custodial staff who work closely with the chemicals day after day."
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Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn held a press conference Feb. 20 at Jones College Prep to announce the introduction of the Green Clean Schools Act. Pictured from L-R: Jacob Powell (Tennant Company), Vince Fagan (United Supply Company), Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Rep. Karen May, Rochelle Davis (Healthy Schools Campaign), and Dan Casasanto (Jones College Prep High School) |
We are now preparing for a floor vote in the House, which we expect to take place within the next three weeks. Visit our Green Clean Schools Act website to learn more and find out what you can do to help support this important bill.
After the vote, one of the committee members said that a phone call from a school nurse in his district motivated him to change his vote and support the bill.
Many thanks to our School Nurse Advisory Committee members (including Phyllis Pelt and Martha Bergren) who helped us reach out to our network of school nurses in targeted districts and encourage them to take action. More »
Plus: Read recent blog entries on green cleaning:
Healthy Schools Campaign Introduces Green Cleaning Bill | by Mark Bishop
The Responsibility to Go Green | by Claris Olson
HSC Launches Lunch & Learn Series
HSC is kicking off an exciting Lunch & Learn series in 2007 with topics including healthy, efficient school design; green cleaning; environmental justice; and international perspectives on school food.
Join us for lively programs on the hot topics in healthy school environments while you enjoy a top-notch lunch and connect with others who care about school health -- all during your lunch hour! Stay tuned for details at the HSC calendar, and mark your calendar for the first in the series:
Thursday, March 29: Making Your School Building Healthy and Efficient
HSC Launches Healthy, High-Performance Schools Training Series
HSC is launching a series of workshops on healthy, high-performance schools, addressing both the important trends and concepts in the field as well as the practical details for successful implementation in your community. The first two workshops -- for architects, engineers and other design professionals -- are coming up this spring:
Tuesday, April 24 (Chicago) & Monday, May 14 (Springfield):
Healthy, High-Performance Schools: What Design Professionals Need to Know
Run the Chicago Marathon for HSC
HSC invites all running enthusiasts to join our team running The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007.
Raise funds for HSC while you train for this world class athletic event. To learn more about joining the team, to sponsor this effort or to volunteer on race day, please contact Cheryl Kaplan or call 312-419-1810. Online registration pages are coming soon. More »
New Calendar of Events
In an effort to keep our supporters better informed of HSC activities -- and the activities of related organizations -- we have launched a new web-based calendar at www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/events. Visit today!
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