# Newer New Jersey Secondary School Teachers Study, 2021–2023: Insights Pertaining to Indoor Air Quality and Safety

## TL;DR

This study explores concerns of New Jersey secondary school teachers about indoor air quality and safety, especially regarding cleaning products and ventilation, to guide policy and practice.

## Contribution

The study provides new data on teacher-specific concerns about indoor environmental safety in K-12 schools, particularly in New Jersey.

## Key findings

- About half of the teachers were concerned about health effects of cleaning and disinfecting products.
- Most teachers believed school principals are responsible for school safety and health.
- The study recommends improving ventilation and using safer cleaning products to address teacher concerns.

## Abstract

Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?
People spend most of their time indoors, and for teachers, this includes time at work, such as in schools, and at home, plus some time spent in transit (bus, car, train, etc.).Indoor air and environmental quality are critical concerns for school safety and health, with increased importance after the COVID-19 pandemic.

People spend most of their time indoors, and for teachers, this includes time at work, such as in schools, and at home, plus some time spent in transit (bus, car, train, etc.).

Indoor air and environmental quality are critical concerns for school safety and health, with increased importance after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?
To date, few data exist on K-12 teacher-specific opinions and concerns about safety, health, and non-gun violence-related environmental topics.This study provides data on awareness, attitudes, concerns, and perceptions of newer New Jersey public secondary school teachers to inform evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice in schools.

To date, few data exist on K-12 teacher-specific opinions and concerns about safety, health, and non-gun violence-related environmental topics.

This study provides data on awareness, attitudes, concerns, and perceptions of newer New Jersey public secondary school teachers to inform evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice in schools.

Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers, and/or researchers in public health?
To help alleviate teacher concerns with using cleaning and disinfecting products indoors, during and outside normal school hours, install more mechanical ventilation systems or portable air cleaners, and focus on providing products with less harmful chemical ingredients.When outdoor air quality conditions and weather factors like humidity, temperature, and wind are favorable, windows could be retrofitted to be potentially operable for some degree of opening to provide natural ventilation, if available.

To help alleviate teacher concerns with using cleaning and disinfecting products indoors, during and outside normal school hours, install more mechanical ventilation systems or portable air cleaners, and focus on providing products with less harmful chemical ingredients.

When outdoor air quality conditions and weather factors like humidity, temperature, and wind are favorable, windows could be retrofitted to be potentially operable for some degree of opening to provide natural ventilation, if available.

Few studies focus on levels of concern among teachers regarding safety and health (S&H) such as indoor air quality and related environmental S&H topics in K-12 schools. Between October 2021 and June 2023, the New Jersey (NJ) Safe Schools Program provided work-based learning training to 163 newer NJ public secondary career and technical education teachers and asked them to complete online surveys regarding school S&H during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were 205 total survey entries out of 436 possible entries from multiple surveys (two surveys plus a follow-up survey in fall 2022 for those trained in 2021-22 SY). This paper focuses on concerns and perceptions of teacher S&H in physical workplaces with or without ventilation; perceived safety of cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting products (CSDPs); and who is responsible for school S&H. About half of the participants were “very concerned/concerned” about the health effects of CSDPs, and most believed principals are responsible for school S&H. School administrators and principals should take teacher concerns into account to develop, with safety professionals, relevant procedures, including for CSDP use, and provide adequate mechanical ventilation in classrooms.