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Background on the Healthy Schools Act
How the act affects maintenance staff
Applying IPM in your school
Identifying pests
Selecting least-hazardous methods
Maintaining records
Posting before treatments
Exemptions—Posting, notification and recordkeeping
School IPM kit for maintenance and operations staff
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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. 
more...
Resources:
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Healthy Schools Act of 2000 (AB 2260) — Full text [pdf] |
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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.
Resources:
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Healthy Schools Act: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) |
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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:
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- Learn what IPM is. A good place to start is
the U.S. EPA's IPM in 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:
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Least toxic alternatives for Argentine ants, fleas, and white grubs of lawns
[pdf] A DPR Pest Management Assessment by Dr. Nita Davidson. |
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Pest Notes
[external web site] – Fact sheets on a variety of structural and
landscape pests from the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management
Program (UCIPM). |
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Fact sheets from Central Contra Costa Sanitary District [external web site]. |
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U.S. EPA IPM in Schools: A How-To Manual [external web site]. |
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University of Florida School IPM web site [external web site]. |
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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:
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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.
Resources:
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For identifying insects on your own, try: |
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UCIPM Key to Identifying
Common Household Ants [external web site]. This resource includes the ant species that are most likely to be
a nuisance around California homes and structures, with a step-by-step key,
illustrations, photos, and species summaries. From the Univ. of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UCIPM).
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How to manage pests (UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program)
[external web site]. Check the excellent photos on this site to help identify
your pest. Specific to California. |
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UCIPM Weed Photo Gallery [external web site].
The UC IPM Weed Photo Gallery includes many, but not all, weed species commonly
found in California farms and landscapes, organized by common name.
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UCIPM Cockroach Key
[external web site]. Identifying features of the different species of pest cockroaches in California.
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Online insect identification (West Virginia University Extension Services)
[external web site]. A well-organized page of insect identification links. |
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Virginia Tech Insect Identification Laboratory
[external web site]. Here you will find a simple, nontechnical key to major insect groups, and more.
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If you would like further help with identification, you may contact: |
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County Cooperative Extension offices [external web site].
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. |
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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.
Resources:
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Check treatment recommendations for specific pests[external web site].
UCIPM Pest Notes series. |
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Look up active ingredients associated with a product name
from DPR's databases. |
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Find toxicity information on pesticide active ingredients [external web site].
Information on pesticide toxicology from EXTOXNET, a consortium
of several universities. |
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Other links on managing pests. |
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Other links on pesticide hazards. |
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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.
Resources:
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Sample Pesticide Application Warning Sign |
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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.
Resources:
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Sample Pesticide Application Warning Sign |
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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.
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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."
Resources:
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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). |
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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.
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Sample Pesticide Application Warning Sign |
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Sample Notice of Pesticide Application |
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Sample Annual Notification of Pesticide Use |
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Version you can edit [all Microsoft Word]. Download complete kit or download individual documents below. |
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Sample Pesticide Application Warning Sign |
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Sample Notice of Pesticide Application |
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Sample Annual Notification of Pesticide Use |
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