Existing
State Statutes / Regulations
Arizona
Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 3-365 requires buffer zones
around schools for applications of odoriferous pesticides
profenofos, sulprofos, def, merphos, and other pesticides
with similar odoriferous characteristics. These types of
pesticides are not to be sprayed within one-fourth mile
of a school or day care facility, whether ground or aerial
application. This section also states that highly toxic
pesticides cannot be applied within one-fourth mile of a
school or day care facility.
ARS 32-2307 requires the pest control operator to notify
the school 72 hours before any pesticide application in
order to permit the school to comply with ARS 15-152. This
section also states that immediately prior to application
of a pesticide, a business licensee or licensed applicator
shall provide the school with a written preapplication notification
containing: 1) the brand name, concentration, and rate of
application, and any use restrictions required by the label
of the herbicide or specific pesticide; 2) the area or areas
where the pesticide is to be applied; 3) the date and time
the application is to occur; and 4) the pesticide label
and the material safety data sheet.
ARS 15-152 requires the governing board of each school
district to develop and adopt a policy to provide pupils
and employees with at least 48 hours notice before pesticides
are applied on school property. The policy should include:
1) procedures for providing notification including procedures
for oral notification to pupils and employees during a regular
school session, procedures for written notification to parents
or guardians during a regular school session, and procedures
for the posting of signs to identify pesticide application
areas; 2) procedures for requiring any contracted pest control
applicator to provide detailed and sufficient information
to the schools for the purpose of completing the posting
materials; and 3) procedures providing for continuing instruction
for pupils who are absent because of pesticide application
on school property.
You can read the Arizona
Revised Statutes at the Arizona State Legislature web
site.
California
Signed into law on September 25, 2000, the
California Healthy Schools Act of 2000 (AB 2260) requires
the preferred method of managing pests at school sites be
effective least-toxic pest management practices; requires
each school site to maintain records of all pesticide use
at the school site for a period of 4 years and make the
records available to the public upon request; requires,
on an annual basis, the school district designee to provide
to all staff and parents or guardians of pupils enrolled
at a school written notification addressing, among other
things, expected pesticide use; requires that recipients
be afforded the opportunity to register with the school
district to receive information regarding individual pesticide
applications; and, requires the school district designee
to post warning signs prior to application of pesticides
at a school site.
Signed into law on September 11, 2002, AB
947 increases the penalty for violations of pesticide
laws; authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture of any
county to regulate pesticide applications around sensitive
sites, as defined, specifically school sites; and, requires
that, for every school located within one-quarter mile of
agricultural land under production, a school pesticide safety
plan must include an element specifically addressing public
health and safety considerations related to pesticide drift
and accidental exposure to pesticides.
Illinois
Signed into law on August 13, 1999, SB
529 requires each school to adopt an integrated pest
management program if economically feasible and makes changes
concerning notification requirements before application
of pesticides to school property.
Louisiana
Louisiana Revised Statutes (LRS) § 3382-3389 discusses
primary and secondary school pesticide safety by encouraging
least-toxic alternatives to pesticides. The law does not
define an integrated pest management (IPM) plan directly;
instead, it states that the “least-toxic method is
the integral part of an integrated pest management plan
that may include pest control other than the application
of pesticides” (LRS § 3385) and goes on to discuss
the main points of an IPM program. Schools are encouraged
to adopt “the least-toxic method of pest control.”
LRS § 3386 states that pest management at schools must
be done by a trained IPM applicator. Annually, each school
authority is to develop and submit a plan on how IPM will
be implemented for school structures and property. This
plan as well as a written record of all restricted-use pesticides
used is available to the public. LRS § 3389 requires
all schools to maintain a hypersensitive student registry.
Schools include public or private, day or residential, and
elementary to secondary schools. Parents must submit in
writing their request to be pre-notified. Medical verification
of a student’s sensitivity is also required.
To read the Louisiana Statutes, visit the Louisiana
State Legislature web portal.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Administrative Rules § 506.07 states
that aerial applications cannot occur when children are
commuting to and from school and when there is outdoor activity.
This section also prohibits aerial applications in sensitive
areas, including day care centers and school buildings and
property, playgrounds, and athletic fields. Distance to
the school is subject to the aerial application permit.
New Hampshire Administrative Rules § 508.01 requires
signs to be posted when commercial applications are made
to turf areas; signs are to remain posted for 48 hours.
New Hampshire Administrative Rules § 506.07(b) and
(c) states that pesticides are not to be applied in sensitive
areas, such as school buildings, playgrounds, athletic fields,
and any other property of the school “where exposure
to the pesticide(s) may have an adverse effect on human
health, wildlife, and the environment.”
For more information, see the New
Hampshire Administrative Rules for the Pesticide Control
Board.
New Jersey
New Jersey Administrative Code (NJAC), Pesticide Control
Regulations, § 7:30-10.2(k) states that community or
areawide pesticide applications for the control of gypsy
moths must not occur during normal student commuting times,
as determined by the local school district, within two miles
of a school including part or all of grades K through 8
and within two and one-half miles of a school including
part or all of grades 9 through 12. NJAC § 7:30-10.6(q)
restricts aerial applications 300 horizontal feet around
any school property when people are on school property.
NJAC § 7:30-9.12(d)(3) requires permanent posting
at the central bulletin board for indoor school pesticide
applications. The notice must include a contact for receiving
more information and the next application date. The posted
sign may be removed 60 days after the last treatment if
no more applications are planned.
NJAC § 7:30-9.13(e) requires that, at schools, no
commercial application of pesticides for the control of
turf or ornamental pests be made unless signs are posted
at the beginning of the application and remain posted for
72 hours. The signs should be legible from the principal
access points to the treated areas, such as athletic fields,
playgrounds, and recreation areas.
NJAC § 7:30-10.2(n), restricts when or where pesticides
may be used. It states that no pesticide applications, except
rodenticides, insect baits, and antimicrobial agents can
be applied within any school’s (preschool to 12th
grade) property, during the school’s normal hours.
“After normal school hours… applications can
be made in areas where students will not contact treated
areas until sufficient time is allowed for the pesticide
to dry or settle, or to meet label re-entry or ventilation
requirements.”
For more information, see the New
Jersey Pesticide Control Regulations.
The School
Integrated Pest Management Act (S 137) was signed into
law in December 2002. It requires local educational agencies
and schools to implement integrated pest management systems
to minimize the use of pesticides in schools and to provide
parents, guardians, and employees with notice of the use
of pesticides in schools.
Pennsylvania
Signed by the Governor on April 18, 2002, SB
705 requires all public school districts in Pennsylvania
to adopt an Integrated Pest Management plan by January 1,
2003. The bill also requires the Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture to maintain a hypersensitivity registry of
individuals who are especially sensitive to pesticides,
designate an IPM Coordinator within the department to assist
schools in the adoption and administration of IPM plans,
prepare a standard structural IPM agreement and distribute
it to schools, and provide other materials and assistance
to schools in developing their IPM program.
HB
1289, which was approved by the Governor on April 18,
2002, requires notification of staff and parents before
applying pesticides; limits when pesticides can be applied;
and, requires record keeping.
Pennsylvania information provided by Clean
Water Action.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island General Laws §
23-25-37 authorizes the department of environmental
management and the department of health to develop regulations:
1) to restrict the use of hazardous pesticides in schools,
pre-schools and child care centers in Rhode Island; 2) for
the promotion and implementation of integrated pest management
(IPM); and 3) to cover situations where an emergency application
of pesticide must be conducted to eliminate an immediate
threat to human health, and establish reporting requirements
for these emergency applications.
Washington
Signed into law on May 15, 2001, SB
5533 requires that school districts post notices warning
students and staff whenever pesticides are used in and around
schools and provide advance notification to interested parents.
Introduced State Legislation
California
AB
1006, the Healthy Schools Act of 2004, seeks to prohibit
all public schools from using the most highly toxic pesticides,
as listed, on school property. These provisions would not
apply to antimicrobial pesticide, products deployed in self-contained
bait or trap or as a crack and crevice treatment, or activities
undertaken by participants in agricultural vocational education.
Status: From Senate committee without further action, 11/30/2004.
.
Georgia
HB
1042 would adopt the Georgia School Pesticide Act; provide
for an integrated pest management program at each school;
and provide for regulations regarding the use of pesticides
in public schools.
Status: In Committee as of 4/25/2003.
New York
S 1974 would establish special requirements for pesticide
applications in schools; would require pest management plans
including provisions for integrated pest management techniques
and notices to be given to building occupants; would apply
to grounds as well as buildings; and, would prohibit pesticide
applications which are preventative in nature and do not
respond to existing verifiable pest problems.
Status: To Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation,
1/31/01.
A 2398 would require all public and private schools to
maintain records concerning the purchase, use, and application
of specified chemicals in and around school buildings; make
such documents readily and easily available for public inspection
at a reasonable charge; and, require such information to
be kept for 12 months and then be subject to routine storage.
Status: To Senate Committee on Education, 3/18/02.
A 8672 would establish the Children’s Health Incentive
Fund; provide a mechanism to reduce chemical exposure in
schools through a monetary incentive annually per school
district for the purchase of least-toxic pest control products
and fertilizers by each school district; and, make an appropriation.
Status: Amended in Assembly Committee on Ways and Means,
1/29/02.
A 4533 would require school districts to post signs to
every school to inform teachers and parents that they have
the right to information from the school district regarding
toxic substances in schools and would require that each
school district make available information to teachers and
parents relating to all effects and the circumstances under
which these effects are produced from toxic substances to
which the teacher or child or the parent may be exposed
in school.
Status: To Assembly Committee on Education, 2/12/01.
Tennessee
HB
591 relates to the Tennessee Child Care Centers Pest
Management Act. This bill would require public agencies
and institutions to implement integrated pest management
plans incorporating guidelines developed by the University
of Tennessee cooperative extension service school integrated
pest management program; authorize the use of chemical pest
controls if nontoxic methods have been exhausted; include
a list of approved pesticides; limit approved pesticides
to least toxic pesticides; prohibit the use of pesticides
on government agency or institution property while children
are present; require parental notification in the event
of an emergency waiver; prohibit the storing of pesticides
where children are present; and, require agencies and institutions
to publish their IPM programs and make them available to
parents, guardians, and employees.
Status: In House Committee on Commerce; Referred to Subcommittee
on Small Business, 2/8/01.
HB
1180 relates to protecting children and staff in schools
from toxic pesticides. This act would require public schools
to implement integrated pest management plans incorporating
guidelines developed by the University of Tennessee cooperative
extension service school integrated pest management program;
authorize the use of chemical pest controls if nontoxic
methods have been exhausted; include a list of approved
pesticides; require schools to publish their IPM plan, including
a list of substances used and a contact person; authorize
the use of non-approved pesticides if the agency or institution
director determines that an emergency exists; require parental
notification within 24 hours in the event of an emergency
application; prohibit the storing of pesticides in school
facilities where children are present; and, authorize the
commissioner of education to make rules for implementation
of IPM programs.
Status: In House Committee on Education: Referred to Subcommittee
on K - 12, 4/17/01.
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