MN HF3126

Commissioner of education must establish a fund beginning in the 2023-2024 school year to promote healthy learning and teaching environments and reduce illness-related absenteeism in kindergarten through grade 12 schools.

Fund money must be used specifically to procure and install in-ceiling active upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) devices to remove viruses, bacteria, fungi, and mold from indoor spaces.

Approved devices must demonstrate removal of 80-88 percent of airborne bacteria and 64 percent of bacteria on non-high-touch surfaces, and include laboratory studies of gram-negative bacteria, gram-positive bacteria, fungi, viral surrogates, and SARS-CoV-2.

Devices must operate independently from HVAC systems, continuously draw and treat room air in less than one second, not generate chemicals or ions, include monitoring capabilities for maintenance and environmental conditions, and include maintenance parts for at least five years with 12-month service intervals.

$20,000,000 is appropriated from the general fund in fiscal year 2024 to the commissioner of education to fund school district applications for approved UVGI device procurement and installation.