The effects of air pollution on students and teachers

• In Event: Neighborhood Contexts and Educational Opportunity: Exploring Local Determinants of Student Success

Abstract

We examine how ambient air pollution influences student-by-day and teacher-by-day outcomes, including absences and disciplinary referrals, using daily administrative data from a large urban school district in California between 2003 and 2020. Using wind direction as an instrument for daily pollution exposure, we find that a 10 μg/m³ increase in daily PM2.5 causes a 5.7% increase in full-day student absences and a 28% increase in office referrals in a three-day window. The effects are driven by low-income, Black, Hispanic, and younger students. A 10 μg/m³ increase in daily PM2.5 also causes a 13.1% increase in teacher absences due to illness.

Author

• Sarah Chung, University of Miami
  Presenting Author