EPA Releases Guidelines for Green Travel
The EPA has created a list of green standards questions for its procurement staff to ask hotels and convention centers looking for EPA business.  This move by EPA and CPOC’s Disney Go Green Campaign will help shift the entire hospitality industry in a greener direction!

Illinois Passes Green Schools Legislation
On May 17th, the Illinois Senate voted 52-5 to pass the Green Clean Schools Act, requiring all elementary and secondary schools to use environmentally sensitive cleaning products.

CHEJ and other Environmental Groups Challenge Disney to Go Green with New Campaign Launch
CHEJ and Florida groups officially launch the national Disney Go Green Campaign, urging Disney to become a tourism-industry leader by switching away from toxic cleaners and over to green cleaning. Get involved in the campaign by sending a letter to Disney today! View the press release launching the campaign.NEW! See media coverage of the campaign kick-off.

US Green Building Council Releases New LEED for Schools Program
The LEED for Schools Rating System addresses issues such as classroom acoustics, mold prevention, and environmental site assessment. LEED for schools was created to consider the special nature of schools and children’s health issues. Visit the LEED for Schools website.

GreenFlags/GreenFaith in the News!
The Catholic Advocate, a publication of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, has written an article about the Green Flags/GreenFaith program in New Jersey. Here's a link to the online version

What's Gotten into Your Soap?
Keep your school, childcare center and home squeaky clean, and healthy too! The newly formed Florida Alliance for Healthy Indoor Environments, a working group of the Child Proofing our Communities Campaign, has developed new materials on green cleaning. click here to read more.

After Child-Care Disaster, NJ Taking Steps to Clean Up Sites
The NJ State Senate Committee recently approved a bill that would require all existing educational facilities and child-care centers in the state to test their sites for contamination, and conduct site-cleanup if hazards are identified.  The new legislation would close a loophole that recently allowed a Gloucester County child-care facility to operate on a mercury-contaminated site of a former factory. Read More.

Victory!
School and community groups tirelessly fighting for safe school sites have won a huge victory to protect children’s health. A bipartisan bill will prevent schools and childcare centers from being built on contaminated land and require remediation of existing contaminated education buildings. The bill passed out of committee and will go to the full legislature for a vote in December.

Victory!
The High-Performance Green Buildings Act of 2006 passed out of committee and is onto the full Senate for a vote. Upon its passage, the bill will advance green building design, healthy indoor air, and school siting guidelines. Congratulations to CPOC advocates, Healthy Schools Network, and supporting organizations for your great work. For more information, click here.

Victory!
Massachusetts has passed new school building regulations that cover indoor air quality, construction materials, and school siting issues. New schools must: be on a site free from pollution or contamination and more than 1000 feet from an active landfill; discourage vehicle idling; orient to maximize day-lighting; use sustainable products; and use new HVAC systems to ensure good indoor air quality. For the full text: www.mass.gov/msba.

New York Establishes First Ever Children's Environmental Health Council!
Making the protection of children from environmental hazards one of the highest priorities of the state, Governor Pataki has signed A.6905-a/S.3061-a to establish a first ever NYS Children’s Environmental Health Council.  The council will develop health-protective programs and regulations to be implemented by school districts and boards of cooperative educational services.  Click here to read the bill summary.  

Victory!  Rhode Island Passes Legislation to Ensure Safe School Sites!
In a landmark commitment to protect children from environmental health hazards, the state of Rhode Island has passed a law that requires proposed public schools sited where contamination is known or suspected to exist to take precautionary steps to make sure the site is safe! 

Click here to read the text of the new law.

CPOC's School Siting Model Legislation guided Rhode Island Legal Services and community groups to build momentum for the law, advocating that it be protective of the special vulnerabilities of children and solicit community participation in each step of the school siting process.

Policy Spotlight: New York State Measure Requires Schools to Use Green Cleaning Products
In August 2005, the New York State Senate passed a bill that now requires schools to use green cleaning products. The bill, Senate Bill 5435 (S5435), signed into law on August 23 by New York Governor George Pataki, requires the procurement and use of environmentally sensitive cleaning and maintenance products in schools.
[read the full story here.]
[read text of the bill.]
> read recent reporting by ABC News and Time Magazine on green cleaning

Victory!
Thanks to the tens of thousands of comments opposing a proposed human pesticide testing rule, the EPA has responded by releasing the first-ever federal rule prohibiting pesticide experiments on pregnant women and children. [read the story]
For more information and news on the EPA human testing debate, click here

New Report: Building Safe Schools: Invisible Threats, Visible Actions
Report Finds That Schools in 45 States Can Be Built On Contaminated Land Communities in Alabama, Massachussetes, New Jersey and Rhode Island take action
[read the full story]

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