Between the ages of five and sixteen, the average child spends many of his waking hours within the school environment. That this environment should be both as suitable and as healthful as possible has been an accepted premise for many years. Yet a long-standing need has existed for a comprehensive, over-all statement of basic environmental criteria for schools, by which either existing or planned facilities could be evaluated. The publication endeavore to meet that need. The basic recommendations and the standards that it contains are the result of three years of thorough and careful study, in cooperation with school officials, sanitary engineers, sanitarians, and expert consultants across the Nation.