Tuesday, September 25, 2007 Contact: Guillermo Martinez - 518/455-5102
Students, Teachers, Advocates and Lawmakers Applaud Anti-Asthma Laws as Disease Rates Continue to Rise Across State
School buses will not be allowed to idle on school grounds and
specialized asthma medication equipment will be installed in schools
thanks to two new laws by
Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera and
Senators Andrew Lanza and Marty Golden
NEW YORK, NEW YORK (09/25/07)over three million children across New York heading back to school, Governor Eliot Spitzer has signed into law two significant pieces of legislation to help combat New York's nation topping asthma rates. The legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera and Senators Andrew Lanza and Martin Golden will help combat rising levels of pediatric asthma by preventing the idling of school vehicles on school grounds (A.8486B/S.5973B) and by requiring schools with nurses to maintain an asthma nebulizer on site for chronic asthmatic children. Over 2.3 million are being exposed daily to toxic exhaust generated by diesel powered school buses they ride and thousands more are forced to leave school and go to Emergency Rooms or back home for access to asthma medication that can easily be given at school.
According to Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera, "While we might not be able to cure this disease, we can most definitely help reduce the environmental triggers and help the children with acute asthma access their medication while in school. This new law clearly addresses the notion that sick children can not learn and takes steps to provide them with a healthier school environment."
Years of calls by groups such as the Asthma Free School Zone, The American Lung Association, Health Schools Inc., and the West Harlem Environmental Action as well as a scathing report on the spreading increase of the disease in New York by the Assembly Puerto Rican Hispanic Task Force prompted legislative action that now gives the NYS Commissioner of Education the power to ban idling on the grounds of all the 6,544 private and public schools in the state.
Director of the Asthma Free School Zone, Rebecca Kalin, said: "Until the day when children can protect themselves from environmental hazards it is up to adults to do it for them. Because a school holds a concentration of children, protecting the school zone makes sense. The Asthma Free School Zone applauds the passage of the idle-free school zones act. We look forward to continuing progress in the reduction of tailpipe emissions in New York State."
Senator Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) the bills Senate sponsor said, "As President Kennedy once noted, "we all breathe the same air". It is our responsibility to ensure that air is clean. This is an important step in reducing the pollutants that cause a variety of diseases including asthma."
"The dangers of exposing our children to toxic diesel exhaust have been well documented. Today we are a step closer to better protecting our children's health by banning idling of school vehicles outside school buildings. New York's astronomically high rates of pediatric asthma have prompted this new law and I urge the Commissioner of Education to swiftly use these new powers to mandate that all school districts immediately ban all idling outside school grounds." stated Assemblyman Peter M. Rivera (D-Bronx), sponsor and author of the no-idling law.
Rivera added, "This ban on idling is good public policy because it protects the environment, improves air quality outside school buildings, and helps save millions of dollars through fuel conservation. Our children and communities will benefit tremendously because of this new law."
"Public hearings on these issues, community protests and strong advocacy efforts have focused the legislature on the problem of idling buses and the need for nebulizers in our schools. It is ridiculous to continue school policies that rely on sending severely asthmatic children home or to emergency rooms to have them access medication that can easily be dispensed by a school nurse," declared Rivera.
Senator Marty Golden (R-Brooklyn), the bill's Senate sponsor, stated, "This important legislation (A.4588B/S6074A) will require every public school with a nurse, to have asthma nebulizers to aid in the medical treatment of thousands of New York's school children. Almost one in every thirteen school children suffer from asthma, a serious problem in our City and State, and that is why we had to address it now. We need to provide the very best care for our children so that they can be treated in school, limiting hospital visits and reducing the amount of school time interruption."
According to the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, over 50,000 New York City school-age children are asthmatic and statewide the number is nearing 400,000. In 2005, over 10,000 emergency room visits were used to treat students because a nebulizer and a nurse were not available in their schools. The cost to our state for reliance on ER care runs in the tens of millions each year for this age group. The average asthmatic misses over 30 days of school. It is believed that A.4588B/S.6074A will go a long way in alleviating this situation.
ÒWith many schools having as many as 40% of their students suffering from asthma these simple measures to combat this growing disease are long overdue,Ó commented Rivera.
The evidence of the harm to children from idling buses is clear and well documented by the EPA and academics. A.8486B/S.5973B recognizes that children should not be forced to start and end the school day by walking through a smog of harmful pollutants being dispensed by dozens of idling buses outside their schools. Rivera declared, ÒThis is an issue where the cumulative impact of all that exhaust concentrated in an area that is used by children is unhealthy and dangerous. All idling must stop on school grounds.Ó
New York uses over 55,000 buses to transport over 2.3 million children daily. The beneficial impact of this new law is tremendous if the Commissioner of Education uses his new authority to stop all idling outside our states, 6,455 private and public schools.
# # #