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January 2001

As early as 1993, DPR began a pilot program to work with interested school districts to provide them information about IPM practices and assist them in developing an IPM program. DPR also conducted an extensive survey of school districts in 1996 to gain information about their IPM policies and practices. Governor Davis felt that IPM in schools was important enough to add a school IPM program to DPR’s budget in July 2000, as part of his Children’s Health Initiative. Governor Davis later signed Assembly Bill 2260 (the Healthy Schools Act of 2000, Education Code sections 17608–17613 and Food and Agricultural Code sections 13180–13188) into law on September 25, 2000. This law, authored by Assembly Member Kevin Shelley, codifies DPR’s existing voluntary school IPM program and adds some new requirements regarding pesticides, such as notification, posting, and record keeping for schools, and enhanced pesticide use reporting. Most provisions of Assembly Bill 2260 took effect January 1, 2001.

DPR also works with other boards and departments of the California Environmental Protection Agency and with the California Department of Education to tie IPM into related areas such as school gardens, environmental education, and high-performance schools.

Through its school IPM program, DPR is committed to facilitating voluntary establishment of IPM policies and programs in schools throughout California, while assisting school districts with their implementation of the new Education Code requirements. DPR plans to:

• Assist districts to establish IPM policies and programs. Some school districts already are working with DPR to establish IPM programs. School districts that want to establish such policies and programs will be able to contact DPR for assistance. In addition, DPR staff also will publicize its school IPM program at meetings attended by maintenance and operations managers and their staff, school administrators, educators, and parents.

• Identify and train individuals designated by school districts to carry out this program. DPR will conduct voluntary train-the-trainer programs so that those who carry out the IPM program (typically managers of maintenance and operations) understand principles of IPM and can train staff within their districts. DPR will also host regional workshops to facilitate adoption by school districts of model IPM programs and to provide information on IPM practices for schools.

• Develop an IPM guidebook. DPR will tailor existing school IPM guidebooks (many have already been done elsewhere) to conditions in California. Pests covered will include insects, mites, rodents, birds, diseases of landscape plants and turf, weeds, and microorganisms, including molds, found in kitchens and bathrooms.

• Establish an IPM in Schools Web site. DPR will adapt the most relevant ideas from other school IPM Web sites. DPR will emphasize user friendliness and will regularly update links to helpful sites.

• Evaluate IPM adoption in schools. This evaluation will help DPR identify major pest problems and what schools are doing about them. Baseline and follow-up surveys will help DPR measure IPM adoption in schools and evaluate whether outreach to schools has been effective.

In addition to the activities outlined above, the law adds certain requirements to the Education Code (EC sections 17608–17613) to be implemented for the first time in the 2001–2002 school year. Each school district is responsible for designating a person to carry out the following requirements:

• Each school district shall annually provide written notification with specified information on pesticides to all school staff and parents or guardians of students. The school district shall identify in this written notification all pesticide products it expects to be applied by district staff or an outside contractor in the upcoming year, and the Internet address to DPR’s School IPM Program Web site (see below). One way the school district may accomplish this is by including the information in written notices it already provides annually to staff and parents.

• Each school shall provide the opportunity for interested staff and parents to register with the school district if they want to be notified of individual pesticide applications at the school before they occur.

• The school district shall post warning signs at each area of the school where pesticides will be applied. These signs are posted 24 hours in advance and 72 hours after applications and should be sufficient, in the district’s opinion, to restrict uninformed access to treated areas. Each school shall maintain records of all pesticide use at the school for four years and make the records available to the public upon request.

For more information about these requirements, please contact Tony Hesch, California Department of Education, at (916) 445-5729 or thesch@cde.ca.gov. To assist school districts, DPR has posted sample templates of the annual notification, the register, and the warning signs. DPR has sample documents available for downloading on its Web site, www.cdpr.ca.gov (click on the School IPM link).

The new law (Food and Agricultural Code section 13186) requires that:

• Licensed and certified pest control operators shall report pesticide applications by school annually to the Director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation beginning with applications made on or after January 1, 2002.

The law (Food and Agricultural Code sections 13180–13185) also adds certain requirements of DPR:

• DPR shall prepare a school pesticide use reporting form to be used by licensed pest control businesses when they apply any pesticides at a school. This form shall be delivered to DPR at least annually.

• DPR shall establish and maintain an School IPM Web site that contains information on pesticide products, a comprehensive directory of resources describing and promoting least-hazardous pest management practices at schools, the model program guidebook, ways to reduce the use of pesticides at school facilities, and provides the public with information about public health and environmental impacts of pesticides.

• DPR shall promote and facilitate the voluntary adoption of IPM programs for all school districts that voluntarily choose to do so, while it assists all school districts to comply with the new provisions of the Education Code.

For more information about these requirements, please contact Nita Davidson at DPR at (916) 324-4100 or school_ipm@empm.cdpr.ca.gov.

For a copy of Assembly Bill 2260 (Chapter 718, Statutes of 2000), see http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset2text.htm.

Copyright ©2001, the Coalition for Adequate School Housing. This document may be reproduced if credit is given to the Coalition for Adequate School Housing. 1130 K Street - Suite 210, Sacramento, CA 95814. (916)448-8577 voice (916)448-7495 fax.