EPA School Siting Guidelines --Submit Your Comments on the Draft Proposal by Feb 18th 2011

 School buildings are fundamental components of the educational process and children spend more time in schools than in any other environment except their home.  More than 53 million children and 6 million staff occupy more than 135,000 public and private schools in the U.S.  A well located, thoughtfully designed, soundly built and efficiently operated school enhances the educational process by providing a safe and healthy environment for children, teachers and other staff.  State-of-the-art schools also provide many opportunities to enhance the educational process itself and to meet multiple community goals.  The decision to site and build a new school is a complex one.  These voluntary guidelines are intended to assist communities and community members in making the best possible school siting decisions.

Comments must be submitted by 4 pm EST on February 18, 2011.

The draft school siting guidelines are being made available to the public for a 90 day comment period.  The guidelines have not been finalized and should not be cited, quoted or otherwise referenced as representing final EPA guidance.
To submit comments on the draft guidelines, please go to the on-line comment form at:
https://public.commentworks.com/epa/schoolsiting