The Envision Program

Envision program symbol of school and leaf

 

Introduction

The “Envision—Promoting Healthy School Environments” program (known hereafter as Envision) is a direct result of the passing of the Act 125 Legislation. Act 125 directs the Commissioners’ of Health, of Education, and of Buildings and General Services to:

The Envision program packet contains a model environmental health plan and policy, sample procedures, letters of support, and a resource guide.

The Envision program and dedicated staff person resides in the Department of Health (VDH). Any questions or inquiries regarding the program, model plan, or technical information on environmental health issues and/or indoor air quality in schools should be directed to:

Vermont Department of Health
Envision Program, Division of Health Protection
P.O. Box 70 , 108 Cherry Street
Burlington , VT 05402
800-439-8550

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Program Goal

The goal of the Envision program is to assist schools in creating and implementing environmental health management plans by:

These minimum guidelines include, but are not limited to the following:

Assessment
Determining if environmental health problem(s) or potential problems exist in your school. Prioritizing them with respect to health risk to the general school population, ease of change and cost.
Address
Establishing a plan of action to mitigate or eliminate, to the extent possible, any existing environmental health problems. Create a method to manage health questions, concerns, complaints and incidents as they occur.
Prevention
Implementing strategies to avoid potential environmental health problems by reducing exposure to irritants and chemicals and maintaining and/or repairing equipment or structural issues that could lead to potential environmental health problems.
Promotion/Support
Promoting environmental health awareness through dissemination of information and involvement in environmental health programs. Supporting your environmental health plan by documenting and sharing your success with the school community.
Maintainability
Ensuring that your environmental health program is sustained by keeping documentation of all implemented and proposed plans and resolutions accessible to the public and by creating a means to review and update your program on a yearly basis.

Participation in Envision also will enable schools to utilize existing related programs to help create a comprehensive School Environmental Health Management Plan.

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Enrollment

Enrollment into the Envision program is voluntary. The legislation in no way mandates the schools themselves. You can view a list of schools (pdf) currently enrolled in the Envision program.

If a school chooses to enroll in this program, it will receive the following services:

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How does the program work?

The Envision program was designed so schools could successfully bring about improvements and progress in their goal towards creating and maintaining a healthier school environment.

In keeping with this idea, the model environmental health management plan was separated into two steps. As a school works through and accomplishes the first step, it will be recognized as an Envision partner. A Envision decal and poster will be provided to display predominantly in the school entrance or community bulletin board.

The first step includes participating in a Vermont Department of Health workshop that is available frequently. In addition the school will use an existing team or committee like the health and safety or facility committee to develop a model plan and policy.

Workshop application

A school or school district completes step two when it has implemented the environmental health management plan, and adopted a policy demonstrating exemplary progress to improve air quality and reduce hazardous exposures.

Completion moves the school or district towards the Certificate of Achievement under the School Environmental Health Act 125. Note that any projects or programs a school is already involved in can be integrated into the Envision program, subject to approval from the Department of Health.

If a school chooses to enroll in the Envision program, then the following information will assist schools to be successful in addressing and preventing environmental health issues.

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Tools for implementing your school Environmental Health Management Plan

Act 125 and the model environmental health management plan were created utilizing the EPA’s IAQ Tools for Schools (IAQ TfS) action kit as its foundation. Therefore, most of the minimum guidelines called out by Act 125 already have a “tool” (e.g. pre-made checklists, model policies, memos, and letters) in the IAQ TfS action kit that can be utilized and/or modified as needed.

It is recommended that schools take advantage of the action kit to help them get started. There is a great deal of useful information on environmental health topics, pre-made checklists, suggestions, and sources of information. If your school does not have an IAQ TfS action kit or would like the new version please contact us for information on how to obtain a copy.

If you are interested in training on the kit please contact the Department of Health at: 1-800-430-8550
or
Eugene Benoit
Tools for Schools Program Coordinator
EPA Region 1 Office
benoit.eugene@epa.gov
or
call the Customer Call Center at 1-888-372-7341. Also, all or portions of IAQ TfS may be downloaded off the EPA website

Note that schools may incorporate/combine existing programs and associated information with IAQ TfS.

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Roles and Responsibilities

It will take the combined efforts of many persons to implement and maintain a successful environmental health management plan and program. The following is a brief outline of the general roles and responsibilities of the persons involved.

Department of Health

School’s Environmental Health Committee

School Administration

School Board

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