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Background on the Healthy Schools Act

The Healthy Schools Act of 2000 (Assembly Bill 2260) put into code the DPR’s existing voluntary school IPM program and added some new requirements, such as parental notification of pesticide applications, warning signs in pesticide-treated areas, recordkeeping at schools, and pesticide use reporting by licensed pest control businesses that work in schools.   wedge more...

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How the Act Affects Maintenance Staff

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Your school district’s IPM coordinator (or "designee") is responsible for carrying out the requirements of the Healthy Schools Act. Maintenance and operations staff will generally work with the IPM coordinator, other school staff, and possibly with pest management contractors, to do the following:

  • Maintain records of pesticides used at each school site for at least four years.
  • Develop lists of pesticide treatments expected in the coming year, to be used for notifying parents.
  • Communicate with other district staff as necessary so that concerned parents (who have registered with the district) are notified at least 72 hours before individual pesticide applications.
  • Post warning signs at least 24 hours before pesticide treatments and 72 hours afterward.

The best way to reduce overall pesticide use is by adopting an integrated pest management (IPM) program. The Healthy Schools Act requires DPR to help you in implementing IPM programs at schools. It also exempts certain pesticides from recordkeeping, notification, and posting.

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Applying IPM in Your School

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Integrated pest management, or IPM, is a problem-solving approach to pest management that helps pest managers make the best possible decisions. An IPM program may change the way you perform some of your maintenance duties. Here are some steps you can take to apply IPM in your school:

  • Learn what IPM is. A good place to start is the U.S. EPA's IPM for Schools: A How-To Manual.
  • Get trained in IPM techniques. Some training resources are listed here, and your district probably has some of them already. In addition, DPR will be sponsoring a series of school IPM training sessions for school district designees (IPM coordinators) in the future. Details will be posted on this web site. Seek guidance from your district IPM coordinator.
  • Get information on specific pest problems. For practical recommendations on how to manage specific pests using least-hazardous methods, see:

Identifying Pests

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Integrated pest management, or IPM, is a problem-solving approach to pest management that helps pest managers make the best possible decisions. An IPM program may change the way you perform some of your maintenance duties. Here are some steps you can take to apply IPM in your school:

Anyone can learn to recognize the most common pests, with the help of some good photographs or identification keys. Identifying less common pests may require help from professionals. Either way, identification is an indispensable step in the IPM process. Different pest species often have very different biologies and habits, which means that management methods will also vary.

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For identifying insects on your own, try:

If you would like further help with identification, you may contact:

  • County Cooperative Extension offices. List of offices with phone numbers and email addresses. Depending on the county, your Cooperative Extension Farm or Home Advisor may be able to help with identification.

Selecting Least-Hazardous Methods

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In an IPM program, prevention is always the first and least hazardous strategy. Before using pesticides, make sure you have applied as many preventative measures as possible (see links below for tips). Also, monitor pest populations to make sure that the problem is really serious enough to require treatment.

When you do use pesticides, you will want to choose the least hazardous products possible for the job. The UCIPM recommendations below are a good place to start.

If pesticides are needed, remember that the Healthy Schools Act requires that parents who requested notification be notified 72 hours before any nonexempted pesticide treatment. (This notification is in addition to the warning sign which must be posted 24 hours before treatment.) That means that you will probably need to notify an appropriate administrator or district IPM coordinator well before any pesticide treatments take place anywhere on school grounds.

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Maintaining Records     |legislative text|

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The Healthy Schools Act requires each school site to maintain records of all pesticide use at the school site for a period of four years, and to make this information available to the public upon request. A school site may meet these requirements, for example, by retaining a copy of the warning sign posted for each application. This is the simplest option, but some schools may choose a more sophisticated written or computer-based system.

The law does not require recordkeeping for treatments involving exempt products such as baits and traps. However, we highly recommend that schools record all treatments. Keeping these records is an important part of an IPM program, and also allows schools to document their use of least-toxic alternatives.

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Posting Before Treatments      |legislative text|

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The Healthy Schools Act requires each school site to:

  • post warning signs 24 hours before treatment at each site where pesticides will be applied.
  • leave signs for 72 hours after treatment.
  • sign must display the term “Warning/Pesticide Treated Area” and include product name, manufacturer’s name, U.S. EPA product registration number, intended date and areas of application, and reason for the pesticide application.

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Exemptions-Posting, Notification and Recordkeeping    legislative text

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The law does not require posting, notification, or recordkeeping for treatments involving certain kinds of pesticide products. The categories of products exempted are:

  • Self-contained baits and traps.
  • Gels or pastes used for crack-and-crevice treatments.
  • Antimicrobials.
  • Products listed as minimum-risk pesticides by the U.S. EPA.

To determine whether a product is exempt or not, review the categories above, then read the label carefully. The label is a legal document describing permitted uses for particular products. To get an idea of which products are potentially exempt, you may consult our new exempt pesticides worksheet (534 kb) [pdf]. Whether exempt or not, DPR highly recommends that schools record all pesticide treatments. Keeping these records is an important part of an IPM program, and allows schools to document their use of least-toxic alternatives.

The HSA also exempts activities undertaken as part of a vocational agricultural program (see legislative text for details). California Youth Authority schools are subject to special provisions. Finally, the law allows for emergency use exemptions from HSA requirements when immediate use of a pesticide is "necessary to protect the health and safety of pupils, staff, or other persons, or the school site."

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  • news  Pesticides exempted from the Healthy Schools Act (534 kb) [pdf] – A printable worksheet to help you determine whether recordkeeping, posting, and notification are legally required for particular pesticide products (NOTE: DPR recommends keeping records of ALL pest management activities, as part of a sound IPM program).

School IPM Kit for Maintenance and Operations Staff

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To make things easier, we have assembled some essential forms, templates, and information sheets into a printable packet.

Version for printing only [all PDF]. Download complete kit or download individual documents below.