Healthy Schools for Healthy Kids Summit

The summit will advance actionable recommendations for a health-first Agenda for America’s Schools—developed and finalized following the convening—to align national policy priorities around a shared goal: ensuring every child learns in a healthy school environment.
For more than 30 years, advocates, researchers, educators, and public health leaders have worked to advance healthier school environments centered on children’s health and well-being. While this movement has led to meaningful progress, those gains are increasingly at risk due to federal and state budget cuts, chronic underinvestment in school infrastructure, aging buildings and HVAC systems, deferred maintenance, and limited technical support for communities working to improve environmental health in schools. At the same time, children across the country are facing growing health and learning challenges that demand urgent, coordinated action.

The Healthy Schools for Healthy Kids Summit will convene leaders and experts from across public health, education, policy, advocacy, and industry to help shape a forward-looking Health-First Agenda for America’s Schools: a broadly supported set of priorities designed to advance healthier school environments for children nationwide.

National leaders and experts will open the summit by exploring the connections between school environments, children’s health, and learning outcomes, alongside the growing infrastructure and investment challenges facing schools nationwide. Discussions will also highlight emerging environmental threats, advances in science and building performance, and opportunities to strengthen policies that support healthier learning environments for all children.

Facilitated discussion groups will focus on turning science and proven solutions into action, with sessions on indoor air quality and ventilation, school infrastructure and modernization, climate resilience, pollution prevention, technical assistance, and research needs.

The summit will conclude by identifying shared priorities and areas of consensus to help shape a Health-First Agenda for America’s Schools and support coordinated advocacy, communications, and partnership efforts moving forward.