Illinois House Passes Bill Mandating School Air-Quality Monitors

In April, the Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 4739 to improve the indoor air quality for schools, WAND News reported. This plan requires school districts to ensure that all active classrooms are equipped with air-quality monitors.

Advocates expect the state to spend roughly US$10 million to buy monitors for classrooms statewide. The plan would also require the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to work with the Illinois Department of Public Health to create a document explaining the values of good indoor air quality for districts.

House Bill 4739 amends the Illinois school code that requires the inspection of all buildings in a school district once every 10 years. This requirement helps populate the data collected in ISBE’s health/life safety survey system about public school facilities, including school buildings, for all school districts other than Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

ISBE estimates that approximately 110,000 active classrooms exist statewide including those within CPS. However, it’s possible that this number is understated, since many schools utilize smaller rooms that may be considered active classrooms.

ISBE said HB 4739 does not specify what types of air-quality monitors would be funded by an appropriation. Commercial air-quality monitor costs can range from $200 to several thousands of dollars per unit. This bill also does not contemplate ongoing maintenance costs that districts might face, such as the cost of repairing or replacing damaged or obsolete monitors, or ongoing subscription costs that some monitors require. Ultimately, the ISBE cannot determine potential costs to districts.

The proposal now resides in the Illinois Senate for further consideration.