I oppose HB 1345 due to the additional regulations and significant budget impact it will impose on school divisions. As a school board member in Orange County, I have seen our own employees perform this work admirably. We have in-house state-licensed Master HVAC technicians. Why would we need to restrict inspections to a more expensive and specially certified engineer? Especially in rural counties like Orange, this could shrink the workforce, significantly increase costs, and make it harder to meet inspection timelines. Where is the clear evidence that this disruption to our already outstanding process actually results in improved safety? Additionally, the additional testing requirements for radon and moisture will result in yet another unfunded mandate that our school division simply cannot absorb. Not every area of VA has the same radon and moisture risks. This bill forces uniform testing anyway and is a one-size-fits-all example of expensive state micromanagement. Please allow localities the flexibility to prioritize the actual issues within our own schools. Passage of HB 1345 will increase costs, reduce local control, complicate staffing, and create inspection delays - all without actually achieving better outcomes for students. Please vote no on HB 1345.

Virginia Progressives was pleased to help find bi-partisan support for this proposal at its first introduction and we look forward to seeing key features that were removed at the Governor's desk last year added back. Securing an environment conducive to learning and to healthy development during the significant time children spend in school remains a top priority for us. Uniform testing and reporting for key pollutants will help empower communities to make progress toward this goal.

My name is Alison Kaplan and I am a School Counselor in the city of Richmond. In March of 2024, RPS preformed air quality tests at the behest of concerned staff members. Upon noticing the mention of asbestos several times throughout the report for my building, I began researching federal guidelines as they pertain to asbestos in schools (AHERA). I uncovered numerous violations, and discovered that the district was 15 years out of compliance. A major concern was that there were materials within our school that had been deemed friable years prior, but had yet to be remedied. Friable asbestos materials can release particles into the air that pose serious health risks. After a calendar year of advocacy, the remediation work was finally completed. However, we still remained well out of compliance with other regulations outlined in AHERA, so my advocacy continued. Concerns intensified this August, when we learned that the school auditorium had an extreme outbreak of mold over the summer. We had not yet received the required Air Quality Report Update that should have been completed following the asbestos remediation in March of 2025, nor did we receive one upon our return to the building this school year. Once again, my colleagues and I advocated for the health and wellness of ourselves and students. When an air quality test was completed, it was determined that our auditorium was unsafe for reentry, and it was subsequently closed for the first month of the school year while contractors worked to fix the issue. We have since learned that remediation efforts will be ongoing for the foreseeable future until an HVAC unit is able to replaced, as the current unit is not suitable for the space it serves. Throughout remediation efforts for mold, moisture, air quality, and asbestos, work was preformed throughout the school day. This compromised of cleaning, tile replacement, painting, and mold abatement. Staff and student noted harsh smells throughout the building daily. Many chose to wear masks, or complained of headaches or nausea. HB 1345 is important to me for many reasons. No public school staff member should be expected to serve as the building liaison for air quality and safety. It is expected that school districts maintain ongoing efforts to ensure a healthy school environment. Even with AHERA in place, my colleagues and I still found ourselves searching for answers and requesting documents and reports that effect our health. Educators are already overburdened with the tasks that fall within our actual job descriptions, and advocating for a healthy building over the course of two years adds undue stress. HB 1345 would ensure that this information is readily available to the public. HB 1345 would offer educators and parents some assurance that while we understand that work must be completed, we are not being inundated with harsh air containments, paint vapors, and cleaning chemicals. Any educator who works within a 75-year-old building can attest to how crucial this is. HB 1345 would ensure that engineers certified to preform testing would inspect our HVAC systems – avoiding issues like we have in our auditorium. Finally, HB 1345 would present districts with clear directives regarding plans for mold testing, moisture testing, and the removal of hazardous substances so that educators will not have to bear the burden of advocating for this commonsense testing to take place. Thank you for you time and support of HB 1345.

HB 1345 may sound like a simple health and safety bill, but it creates real problems for school boards. First, it unnecessarily limits who can perform required HVAC inspections. The bill removes state-licensed Master HVAC technicians and restricts inspections to a much smaller group of specially certified engineers. That shrinks the workforce, especially in rural areas, drives up costs, and makes it harder for divisions to meet inspection timelines without any clear evidence that safety improves. Second, the bill adds new testing requirements, including radon and moisture testing, without providing funding. These are expensive evaluations, and the cost will fall entirely on local school boards, pulling dollars away from classrooms and other safety needs. Third, HB 1345 imposes one-size-fits-all mandates that ignore local conditions. Radon and moisture risks vary widely across Virginia, yet the bill forces uniform testing regardless of actual risk or prior results, reducing local flexibility to prioritize real problems. Finally, this is another example of state micromanagement. The state dictates technical requirements, but local boards remain responsible for paying the bills and managing the facilities. Bottom line: HB 1345 increases costs, reduces local control, and creates staffing bottlenecks without guaranteeing better outcomes for students. Good safety policy should be practical and flexible, not rigid and unfunded.