Healthy School Facilities Network

The National Association of State Boards of Education has created the Healthy School Facilities Network (HSFN) to build and enhance the capacity of states to provide healthy school facilities. A 2021 NASBE landscape analysis of state-level programs for testing lead in school drinking water found states encounter challenges in the areas of outreach and coordination, transparent communication, data collection and management, and technical and financial support.

With the right partnerships, planning, and implementation support, states can address these challenges and ensure that every student learns in a building that meets their basic needs and contributes to academic success and that staff can operate in a safe workplace. Through HSFN, NASBE aims to give states the support needed to address locally identified priorities.

Toward that end, the HSFN will help states increase access to healthy school facilities over a 9-month period (September 2022 – June 2023) by:

• Building a shared understanding of the role physical learning environments have on student health and academic success;
• Convening state teams for cross-state collaboration, information sharing, and briefings by national experts, researchers, and federal officials;
• Facilitating enhanced communication between federal, state, and local partners to address state specific challenges and leverage federal funds for facility improvements;
• Offering guidance on the alignment between the state’s current/ongoing school facilities improvement efforts, state strategic plan, and federal funding opportunities;
• Providing technical assistance, research, and supporting action plan development;
• Elevating examples of state leadership and success in publications, during public webinars and national conversations.

The Georgia, Indiana, Guam, and District of Columbia state boards have each formed teams of key leaders to engage in HSFN learning activities and develop action plans and policy solutions to advance school facility improvements. Each team has received a $10,000 grant to convene in-state stakeholder meetings and spur conversations around enhancing the state’s school facility improvement efforts.

The HSFN is made possible by the Joyce Foundation, a nonpartisan private foundation that invests in public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes Region. Read our fact sheet to learn more about the HSFN and opportunities for getting involved by contacting Celina Pierrottet.