We spend time debating school budgets, cellphone policies, and math curricula. But look up. There is a massive piece of our kids’ daily lives that we completely look past, simply because it is always there: the lighting. We just simply turn on the light. If it doesn’t turn on, we have it fixed. It sounds simple. But that’s the thing: it’s not.
As you may already know, fluorescent lighting is considered outdated and harmful by most credible scientific and government sources. In fact, several states — including Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Maine, and Colorado — have outright banned the sale of linear fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Many of us who don’t know the facts, including myself prior to researching this, treat these lights like they are completely harmless, but the science says otherwise.
Countless research articles from credible scientific organizations have found this lighting to be harmful for both students and adults. Experts say this is especially true for people with complications. Even for someone like me who just needs glasses, studies show fluorescent lights can cause major eye strain, and scientists warn that in some people the effects may be much worse. While it is worth mentioning that not everyone is affected by this, a significant number of people are. It could be impacting a student’s learning and ability to thrive in their schools.
Aside from the complications affecting focus and health, there is a physical safety and environmental problem that comes with them as well. I was able to confirm from many sources that fluorescent lights contain harmful gases and chemicals, such as mercury. That is the big one. Beyond a few niche applications, it’s largely considered outdated in 2026. If one of these lights is broken, it can be a significant hazard for anyone nearby. Usually, you just pick up a broken bulb and dispose of it. Not with fluorescents. When one of these lights breaks, it causes extreme disruption to student safety, often triggering a classroom or, in some cases, a full school evacuation just out of an abundance of caution.
If you take away anything from this, just make sure that you understand this part: Poison Control has an entire section dedicated just to cleaning up a broken CFL bulb. The same Poison Control you call for antifreeze and rat poison. When an item requires a Poison Control protocol, you keep it out of reach of children. You sure don’t bring it to their schools. But with an LED, you just make sure nothing is connected and grab a broom and dustpan.
What makes this still an urgent issue is how far our schools have fallen behind the rest of the infrastructure in the country. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, K-12 schools and other educational institutions have the lowest LED adoption rates among all categories of commercial and government buildings. Their data show that approximately 78% of lighting in educational buildings still uses fluorescent lights.
In contrast, the Energy Information Administration found that 90% of U.S. households reported using LED bulbs for indoor lighting, with 37% using LEDs for all indoor lighting and 63% using them for most of their indoor lighting. While the school data is from a few years earlier in 2020, adoption in K-12 schools did not advance dramatically during that period due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruptions to school repairs and upgrades. Even with the statewide bans on selling these lights, it could be decades until America’s schools are updated.
I’m urging anyone who is interested to do their own research, contact local schools, and ask about their usage of these lighting fixtures.
While I believe it’s a school’s responsibility to fix this, I do not believe schools are to blame either. Most school buildings today were built during a period of time when fluorescent lighting and CFLs were the standard in industrial or large-building lighting. The simple fact is, technology has evolved, and it’s time schools move forward with it too.
Aidan Pasic lives in Greenfield.