One of the most overlooked challenges in public education today is the health environment inside our classrooms. Every year, millions of students miss school due to illnesses that spread rapidly in crowded indoor spaces. Elementary schools, in particular, are environments where germs can move quickly from student to student through shared surfaces, close contact, and recirculated indoor air. While schools work hard to maintain cleanliness, traditional cleaning methods alone often cannot keep up with the constant spread of viruses, bacteria, and mold throughout a busy school day.
This is why new technologies designed to improve indoor air quality deserve serious attention.
One promising solution is a pathogen-control technology known as Synexis, which uses low levels of Dry Hydrogen Peroxide (DHP) gas to continuously reduce microbes such as viruses, bacteria, and mold in indoor air and on surfaces while spaces are occupied. Unlike traditional disinfecting methods that rely on sprays, wipes, or fogging after a room is empty, Synexis systems operate continuously in the background, helping to reduce microbial levels throughout an entire indoor environment.
The system works by converting normal oxygen and humidity in a room into a true gas form of hydrogen peroxide known as DHP. This gas disperses naturally throughout the space, reaching corners, ceilings, ventilation ducts, and other areas that traditional cleaning methods often miss. Once dispersed, the DHP interacts with microorganisms and helps deactivate them by damaging key cellular structures. The result is a constant layer of microbial reduction rather than a one-time sanitation effort.
Another important advantage of this technology is its flexibility. Synexis systems can be installed directly into a building’s HVAC system or mounted as wall or ceiling units that quietly operate throughout the day. Because the system functions safely in occupied environments, it does not interrupt normal activities or require additional staff workload. Instead, it complements existing cleaning practices and ventilation systems while providing a continuous layer of protection.
Facilities across the country are already exploring or using technologies like this in places where maintaining a healthy indoor environment is essential. Hospitals, laboratories, convention centers, schools, residential buildings, and government facilities have implemented continuous pathogen-reduction systems to improve indoor air quality. Government agencies have also considered these systems as part of broader air-quality and biodefense strategies in courthouses, municipal buildings, and military installations. High-security federal facilities and heavily trafficked government buildings often incorporate advanced air-handling systems to reduce airborne pathogens as an added layer of protection alongside filtration, ventilation, and routine cleaning.
Given these benefits, it raises an important question: Why shouldn’t our children receive the same level of protection in their classrooms?
Elementary schools are among the most densely populated indoor environments in our communities. When one student becomes sick, illnesses often spread quickly across classrooms and grade levels. The result is increased student absences, lost instructional time, and additional stress for teachers and families. Parents must miss work to care for sick children, teachers must constantly adjust lessons for absent students, and classrooms lose valuable momentum in learning.
Cleaner indoor air can help address this challenge.
Installing continuous pathogen-reduction technology in school HVAC systems could significantly improve indoor air quality while reducing the spread of viruses and bacteria. Fewer germs circulating in classrooms would mean fewer illnesses, fewer absences, and a healthier learning environment for both students and teachers.
This is not only a public health issue—it is an educational issue.
When students miss school due to illness, they lose valuable instructional time. When teachers must repeatedly reteach lessons for absent students, the pace of learning slows for everyone. By investing in preventative health technologies that reduce the spread of germs in schools, we can improve attendance, support academic performance, and strengthen the overall learning experience.
As someone running to represent Florida’s 11th Congressional District, I believe our community has an opportunity to lead the nation in forward-thinking solutions like this.
My goal would be to make Florida’s District 11 a national test bed for healthier elementary schools, piloting modern air-quality technologies that could dramatically improve student health and attendance. By working with local school districts, health experts, and technology providers, we could evaluate how systems like Synexis perform in real-world classroom environments.
If successful, the results could serve as a model for school districts across the United States.
America has always been a country that tests new ideas, learns from them, and then expands the solutions that work. By starting here in District 11, we could gather real data, measure improvements in attendance and student health, and help shape national policy on healthier school environments.
Investing in cleaner air inside schools is not simply a technology upgrade—it is an investment in children, education, and the future.
Our classrooms should be places where students can focus on learning, not places where illness spreads from desk to desk. By embracing innovative solutions and making student health a priority, we can build a stronger, healthier education system for the next generation.
And it can start right here in Florida’s 11th District.