How School Facilities Impact Student Health and Performance: Advancing Equity with Green Infrastructure

This brief explores how improving school facility conditions—especially through green infrastructure and indoor environmental upgrades—can enhance student and staff health, academic performance, and educational equity. It highlights that poor school building conditions, such as outdated HVAC systems, exposure to pollutants, or extreme indoor temperatures, disproportionately impact low-income and underserved communities. The resource connects facility quality with student outcomes, noting that chronic absenteeism, asthma, and heat-related learning disruptions are more prevalent in schools with poor infrastructure. It presents findings from national research and California-specific studies, including data from the Public Policy Institute of California and UC Berkeley, to show how school infrastructure investments can mitigate environmental and educational disparities.

The publication emphasizes the importance of incorporating green infrastructure—such as improved ventilation systems, shade structures, and vegetation—to support both physical health and learning environments. It also provides guidance for education leaders on identifying funding sources, planning improvements with equity in mind, and leveraging state and federal resources. Specific California initiatives are referenced, such as the Green Schoolyards Grant Program and the Schoolyard Greening Project, though the recommendations are broadly relevant across the U.S. The resource is suited for district administrators, state education officials, facilities planners, and equity advocates seeking to link facilities improvement with student well-being and opportunity.

Author: Alyssa Perez