Community advocates, state leaders from Rhode Island Department of Health and Department of Education, state legislators, and researchers gathered at the convening “Call to Action: Healthy Indoor Air for Rhode Island Schools.” Organized by the Brown University Pandemic Center and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, with support from Brown University’s Annenberg Institute, the convening brought together diverse perspectives united by a shared goal: advancing clean, safe indoor air for Rhode Island’s public schools. Brown University faculty, Dr. Georgia Lagoudas and Professor Meredith Hastings, along with MPA Research Fellow Minh Hoang, coordinated the convening, which was held at the Brown School of Public Health on December 8, 2025.

A Gap in the Current Public Health Framework

Indoor air quality is one of the most under-recognized public health challenges that remains insufficiently addressed by policy. This is concerning. Children spend most of their day indoors, with teachers breathing the same air. Parents often miss work to care for sick children. 

Schools in Rhode Island, and across the country, lack health-based indoor air quality standards to keep students safe. In Rhode Island, there are no guidelines or enforcement mechanisms to ensure school environments, especially the air kids breathe, are healthy. 

What’s at Stake for Rhode Island

Data shared throughout the convening underscored the severity of the crisis. Kenny Mendez, CEO of Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, noted that Providence ranks 9th among the worst U.S. cities for people living with asthma. Between 2023 and 2024, there was a 48% increase in asthma prevalence in Providence and a 15% increase in asthma mortality. This burden is amplified by the fact that people spend about 90% of their time indoors, where air pollution is often 2–5 times worse than outdoor air.

Echoing this concern, Dr. Tosin Ojugbele, a community pediatrician and Medical Director of Community Health and Equity at the Rhode Island Department of Health, emphasized that asthma is ultimately about equity. Every child and family in Rhode Island needs to have access to conditions that allow them to thrive. Researchers from the Annenberg Institute showcased that 26.3% of Rhode Island schools are located within a quarter mile of an industrial pollution site, which is more than triple the national rate.

Poor indoor air quality increases student absenteeism, lowers test scores, and harms cognitive function. This is not an issue that requires further study; the data is clear. What is needed is coordination and sustained policy action.

Community Voices That Lead

Community leaders from Providence spoke powerfully about long-standing environmental inequities, especially in the city’s South Side. Many schools were built on contaminated brownfields, where students may face unsafe levels of volatile organic compounds. Illness and economic instability often reinforce one another. Pilar McCloud, Founder of Pilar McCloud Experience, described this reality as financial racism. Schools were built on cheaper, contaminated land, and that money can be saved from these actions.

Echoing this concern, Dr. Tosin Ojugbele, a community pediatrician and Medical Director of Community Health and Equity at the Rhode Island Department of Health, emphasized that asthma is ultimately about equity. Every child and family in Rhode Island needs to have access to conditions that allow them to thrive. Researchers from the Annenberg Institute showcased that 26.3% of Rhode Island schools are located within a quarter mile of an industrial pollution site, which is more than triple the national rate.

Poor indoor air quality increases student absenteeism, lowers test scores, and harms cognitive function. This is not an issue that requires further study; the data is clear. What is needed is coordination and sustained policy action.

Community Voices That Lead

Community leaders from Providence spoke powerfully about long-standing environmental inequities, especially in the city’s South Side. Many schools were built on contaminated brownfields, where students may face unsafe levels of volatile organic compounds. Illness and economic instability often reinforce one another. Pilar McCloud, Founder of Pilar McCloud Experience, described this reality as financial racism. Schools were built on cheaper, contaminated land, and that money can be saved from these actions.

“We penalize poor people for being sick in environments that we’ve made them sick.” - Pilar McCloud, Founder of Pilar McCloud Experience

Several speakers turned to the 2023 Alvarez High School case – where classrooms were shut down because of elevated levels of carcinogenic chemicals in the air – as a powerful example of what can go wrong when indoor air quality is neglected.

Rhode Island Has Growing Momentum

Rhode Island is in a strong position to move forward. During the 2025 legislative session, two companion bills were introduced to address indoor air quality in schools: H5597 in the House and S0977 in the Senate. The bills proposed three core actions: 

1. Set health-based guidelines for indoor air quality;
2. Upgrade HVAC systems to higher quality air filters in schools; and
3. Incorporate indoor air quality assessments into the existing 5-year facility inspections conducted by the School Building Authority.

The Senate Bill passed unanimously and with bipartisan support, while the companion House bill did not move through committee. Still, the effort demonstrated strong coalition building and a large body of public support.

In addition, the state has recently invested in a $5 billion bond to build 50 brand new schools by 2030. As pointed out by Dr. Joseph Da Silva from the Rhode Island Department of Education, Providence is one of the few cities in the country with a fully funded school construction master plan backed by city leadership. The new schools will meet high sustainability standards and include state-of-the-art HVAC systems.

These efforts align closely with the Attendance Matters RI campaign led by Governor McKee and Commissioner Infante-Green, which targets chronic absenteeism by keeping students healthy and safe in school. Indoor air quality can be a priority as part of that campaign.

Paths Forward

Legislators expressed optimism about advancing indoor air quality legislation in the 2026 Rhode Island session. Representative Megan Cotter, who has made indoor air quality a top priority, said: “Indoor air quality is not an extra. Not a luxury. It is a requirement for a safe and healthy learning space.”

Representative Susan Donovan shared her experience teaching for 17 years in a “sick building.” She described chronic coughs, headaches, and respiratory illness that only improved after leaving the building: “I will be an advocate forever for indoor air quality.”

Senator Brian Thompson, an HVAC professional, added: “I couldn’t believe Rhode Island didn’t already have indoor air quality standards.”

With public health experts, community leaders, educators, and lawmakers aligned, the opportunity to move forward is real. As Representative Megan Cotter reminded the room: 

“When we return in 2026, we’re not just reintroducing a bill—we are reintroducing an entire movement.”

This article was written by Minh Hoang, a master's student at Brown University Watson School of International and Public Affairs, and Dr. Georgia Lagoudas, a Senior Fellow at the Brown University Pandemic Center. For additional background, see this policy brief created by the Brown Pandemic Center about the health impacts of indoor air quality in schools and the policy opportunities for Rhode Island.