But these laws are hardly uniform. Alabama outlaws aerial spraying or dusting within
400 feet of school grounds. Louisiana broadens the circle to 1,000 feet but lifts the
restriction before and after school hours. New Jersey’s buffer zone provision, by far the
most complex, includes a separate set of parameters for gypsy moth chemicals and has
different zone measurements for grade schools and high schools.^28 Illinois’s law, passed
in 1999, protects children from pesticides. It was one of the first of its kind calling for
IPM. However, although the law has been on the books for nearly a decade, many
schools are still not in compliance due to the lack of state-sponsored IPM education
programs for school administrators. In order to protect their children, parents must ask
their schools to comply fully with regulations in their state.^29 Massachusetts law, as of
November 1, 2000, requires that schools and daycare centers maintain records of all
pesticide applications for at least five years. In addition, due to the persistence of pesti-
cides used for termite control, records of pesticide applications for termite control
should be kept on record for the life of the property.^30
Non-Compliance in Massachusetts
A recent report concludes that most parents in Massachusetts are not being informed
of pesticide use at their children’s schools and childcare centers despite a state law
requiring schools to submit detailed plans about pesticide use on their grounds. The
Children’s Protection Act of 2000 requires schools and daycare centers to submit plans
explaining the extent of their pest problems, the pesticides they plan to use, and who
will apply them. The law also requires parents and teachers to be notified at least two
days before spraying begins. The report found 81 percent of the state’s schools and
childcare centers have failed to comply with the law. According to the audit, more than
70 percent of the state’s 2,456 schools, both public and private, and 90 percent of the
state’s 3,242 childcare centers have not submitted the required pesticide plans.^31
The California Statute
After activists waged a three-year campaign to highlight the widespread threats to
children’s health, Governor Gray Davis signed the Healthy Schools Act into law in
September 2000. The law requires school districts to: notify parents annually about
what pesticides the district intends to use in their children’s schools and on school
grounds during the following year; provide parents the option to register to be noti-
fied seventy-two hours in advance of all pesticide applications and seventy-two hours
after application; and maintain records of all pesticide use for four years in an accessi-
ble format.
The law also requires the state Department of Pesticide Regulation to: provide
training for interested school district personnel in least-toxic Integrated Pest Manage-
ment techniques; distribute a manual to all schools in least-toxic Integrated Pest Man-
agement; and maintain a Web site with information to help schools comply with the
law and implement least-toxic pest management methods.
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