Following former Alabama Governor Bob Riley's 2009 and 2010 National Healthy Schools Day Proclamations,  (See 2010 Alabama proclamation and signing photo with Governor Riley, placed directly below Governor Bentley's proclamation)

WHEREAS, Alabama is dedicated to enhancing and preserving the safety, health and well-being of our children, especially in the school environment; and

WHEREAS, poor Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in schools can increase the risk of students developing short-term health problems, such as fatigue and nausea, as well as long-term problems, like asthma; and

WHEREAS asthma has reached an epidemic scope in the United States, accounting for nearly 13 million missed school days per year, with an average of one out of every ten children developing asthma; and

WHEREAS, the IAQ Tools for Schools Program is a comprehensive resource, designed to help maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting and preventing IAQ problems; and

WHEREAS, various Alabama school systems have been recognized for their work to improve school environmental quality by the U. S. IPA IAQ Tools for Schools Awards Program, including Birmingham City Schools, winner of the 2003 Great Start Award; Jefferson County Public Schools, winner of the 2004 Excellence and Leadership Awards; Huntsville City Schools, winner of the 2007 Great Start Award; and Auburn City Schools, winner of the 2008 Leadership Award; and

WHEREAS, in 2007, Alabama House Resolution No. 625 urged the state education agency to adopt the EPA IAQ Tools for Schools program for use in all public Schools and urged local school boards to use the EPA Program to implement an IAQ inspection and evaluation program; and

WHEREAS, Alabama has been recognized for the second consecutive year for supporting the protection of school children and personnel from unhealthy environmental exposure and injury by proclaiming National Healthy Schools Day; and

WHEREAS, National Healthy Schools Day is sponsored by Healthy Schools Network in cooperation with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Council of Educational Facility Planners International, the Federal Center for Disease Control, Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health and 25 additional co-sponsors; and

WHEREAS, our schools are the building blocks of our communities and the keystone of our future:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim April 11, 2011,
as    
in the state of Alabama

Given Under My Hand and the great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 29th day of March 2011

(Seal of the Office of the Governor)

Photo courtesy of Office of the Governor of Alabama