School Policies and Practices That Improve Indoor Air Quality*

BACKGROUND: To determine whether schools with a formal indoor air quality management program were more likely than schools without a formal program to have policies and practices that promote superior indoor air quality. METHODS: This study analyzed school-level data from the 2006 School Health Policies and Programs Study, a national study of school health programs and policies at the state, district, and school levels. Using chi-square analyses, the rates of policies and practices that promote indoor air quality were compared between schools with and schools without a formal indoor air quality program. RESULTS: The findings of this study show that 51.4% of schools had a formal indoor air quality management program, and that those schools were significantly more likely than were schools without a program to have policies and use strategies to promote superior indoor air quality. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that schools with a formal indoor air quality program are more likely support policies and engage in practices that promote superior indoor air quality.