The New York State Assembly and Senate have passed a bill barring the construction of schools within 500 feet of a highway. The Schools Impact by Gross Highways Act (or SIGH Act) was written to protect school-age children from air pollution.

Under the bill, which will also apply to New York City, the New York Commissioner of Education will only be allowed to approve plans for a new school within 500 feet of a highway if they determine that space is so limited that no other site would be available.

According to a recent analysis by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), approximately one-third of New York’s students attend a school within 500 feet of a road whose daily volume exceeds 30,000 cars. Approximately 80% of these students are students of color, and 66% are low-income.

“Decades of racial segregation, redlining, and the systemic placement of pollution-emitting infrastructure in Black and Brown communities have played a role in this disparity,” the bill reads. “The American Lung Association says that one of the major reasons that respiratory illnesses are so prevalent in communities of color is the proximity of those communities to producers of hazardous air pollutants, such as major roadways.”

The bill will take effect the next July following its signing into law by the state’s governor. School projects which have already advertised requests for proposals, have acquired property to construct a school, or have been issued a building permit to construct a school, will be exempt from the law if such actions were taken before the effective date.

In addition to barring the construction of new schools within 500 feet of highways, the law will also see the New York State Department of Transportation implement measures for existing schools already within the 500 feet limit. These will include the installation of HVAC systems to improve air quality in schools, insulation to dampen noise pollution, investments in pollutant-absorbing plants both inside and outside schools, and the construction of indoor playgrounds to cater to children with severe asthma.

Advocates such as the NYCLU will now begin work on SIGH Act II, which will prevent the construction of highways near existing schools.

News of the bill’s passage comes one month after a separate bill passed the New York state legislature which will require employers to disclose salary ranges for job postings. In May, meanwhile, NYC Mayor Eric Adams advocated for a plan to convert underutilized hotels to shelter unhoused New Yorkers.