Policy Brief.

Background There is a growing concern that school siting, construction and renovation practices in the United States are inconsistent with efforts to reduce sprawl, encourage compact growth, and increase the sustainability of our built and natural environments. Current practices also undermine efforts to support walking and cycling to school, and to strengthen community-based schools. A range of public health consequences are associated with current thinking and practice. For example, schools sited near a freeway or hightraffic roadway, an industrial facility, underground gasoline pipeline, former landfill, waste disposal facility, or other environmental hazards threaten the health and safety of children as well as teachers, administrators, and others who work at schools through their impact on air and water quality. Furthermore, schools that are not located near residences make it impossible for most children to walk or bike to school, thereby missing an opportunity for physical activity as part of daily routines. Regular physical activity reduces the risk of a number of chronic diseases, helps to control weight, improves mental health, and is associated with less use of health services. At the heart of these problems is the fact that state and local governments rarely work with school districts on decisions related to siting, building and renovating schools, and school districts are rarely at the table when state and local governments develop land-use, transportation, or housing plans. Furthermore, in many states (although not in Florida) regulations are often biased toward the building of new schools rather than the renovation of existing ones. The issues surrounding school siting are especially important in Florida because of high enrollment growth, increasingly diverse student bodies, and the trend toward higher than average spending on school construction.