Readin', Writin' and Riddin' of Bugs
Pests and Pesticides Linger in NC Public Schools?
Take
action!
Does your school spray toxic pesticides for bugs and weeds? If you're not sure of the answer, it's probably because your school isn't notifying you about pest control the way it is required to under North Carolina law! Take action for a pesticide-free school environment. The best first step you can take is to call up your school and ask about it. If you're not receiving notices from your school about pest control at least once each year, something is wrong! Here is a sample letter to your school to request proper notification. Since the fall of 2006, all our state's public schools have been required to notify parents and staff each year about pest control at their school and about their option to receive a notice 3 days in advance of any pesticide spraying at their school. All our public schools are also all required to switch over to least-toxic pest management - also known as IPM (Integrated Pest Management) - by 2011. Least-toxic approaches and advanced notification are so important to prevent pesticide exposure for children and staff in our schools. They can be especially critical for people in the school environment who are more vulnerable to health damage from pesticides, such as students or staff who have asthma, chemical sensitivities, or who are pregnant or nursing. How's your school doing, or for that matter, your child care provider, workplace, or church? Take action today - call them up and ask about it! >>Four key questions to ask your school about pest control. Besides safety concerns, least-toxic approaches to pest control have also been shown to work better. New research by NCSU entomologists published in the Journal of American Entomology found that NC schools using least-toxic IPM had far fewer cockroaches than those that used conventional, chemical-intensive pest control practices - in fact, they had none! (reference) |
Is your school making the grade on pesticides? Take action today to find out! >>Tell us your pesticide story. We're looking for people's stories about how pesticides have affected them, and right now, we're especially looking for stories about pesticides at school or child care. >>Support our work. Donate today!
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Take Action: Four Key Questions to ask your School (or for that matter, your child care provider, church, or workplace) about Pest Control
Your school's answers to these questions will help you determine whether their pest control methods are as safe as possible for students, and in compliance with the NC School Children's Health Act. Need more information? Give us a call at 919-833-1123.
1) Does my school send me an annual notice about the pest control program, and about my option to receive notification in advance of pesticide spraying at our school?
2) Does my school district have a policy requiring least-toxic pest control, also known as IPM?
3) Are pesticides ever used when children are present?
4) Are baseboard spraying or fogging (i.e. "bug bombs") ever used in our school buildings?
If you are not receiving a notice about pest control from your NC public school at least once each year, something is wrong, and your school may be in violation of the 2006 NC School Children's Health Act! Use this sample letter to request notification.
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Please contact Toxic Free NC at or (919) 833-1123 to let us know you're taking action, or if you have any questions. Thank you! |
Not receiving a notice from your school about pest control?
Sample Text & Instructions
Parents
and guardians, teachers and other school system staff
- please take a few moments to contact the people in
charge at your school system and let them know you
want to be notified about pesticide use at your school. Please
customize the text that appears in CAPS and brackets
[ ], and send to the appropriate people. You may choose
to send this by email or in the mail, or to use it
as a basis for a phone call. The sample is set up to
go to the Superintendent of your school system, and
to be copied to the principal of your school, and to
your representative(s) on your local school board. Tips
for finding the right people to send this to.
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Please contact Toxic Free NC at or (919) 833-1123 to let us know you're taking action, or if you have any questions. Thank you! |
[YOUR ADDRESS]
[DATE]
Attn: [YOUR SUPERINTENDENT]
[YOUR SCHOOL SYSTEM'S CENTRAL OFFICE ADDRESS]
CC: [OPTIONAL - YOU CAN COPY THIS TO YOUR PRINCIPAL, YOUR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER(S), PTA CHAIR, A TEACHER, OR OTHERS]
Dear [SUPERINTENDENT'S NAME]:
I am writing to alert you to a North Carolina law which went into effect in 2006 called the School Children's Health Act (see full text here: http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2005/Bills/House/HTML/H1502v5.html).
The law gives parents or guardians, teachers and all school staff the right to be notified in advance of non-exempt pesticide applications at their school, effective as of October 1, 2006. Schools are now required to notify parents or guardians and all school employees annually of the school's pest control program, and of their option to be notified 72 hours in advance of non-exempt pesticide applications at their school or other work site. (Guidelines and sample forms for pesticide use notification can be found at: http://www.toxicfreenc.org/programs/school.html#1502)
I would like to request notification in advance of pesticide applications at my school - please advise me how to register for this notice. It is very important to notify affected staff, and parents or guardians of affected students, before any non-exempt pesticide is used at school. Please ensure that our school system is in full compliance with the School Children's Health Act.
The School Children's Health Act also requires
that all NC public schools implement least-toxic methods
of pest control - known as IPM, or integrated pest management
- no later than October 1, 2011. Many resources are available
to assist schools with this transition, from Toxic Free
NC, the NCSU School IPM Program, and the NC Department
of Public Instruction. I hope that our school system will
complete this transition soon to protect student and staff
health, and the environment.
Many thanks for your consideration, and for your service
to our school district. I will follow up with you about
this matter within two weeks.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION]
Tips for contacting the right people at your school system
Superintendent: You can find contact information for your Superintendent in one of two ways - either check on your school system's website, or look up your school system in a local phonebook and call and ask for the name and contact information of the Superintendent. You can find your school system's main website by doing a web search, or by using this list of public school systems in NC: http://www.ncschoolreportcard.org/src/
About Superintendents... Your Superintendent is like the CEO for your entire school system, overseeing curriculum, facilities, and administration. This person is hired and fired by the school board. Her or his support is critical for your school's compliance with the School Children's Health Act - but keep in mind that this person may be hard to get directly in touch with, especially in a large school system! That's why it's important both to CC: other important contacts, and to follow up with this person's office if you don't hear back from them right away.
Principal: You can find contact information for your principal in two ways - either check on your own school's website if it has one, or look up your school in a local phonebook and call the main office to ask for the principal's name and contact information. To find your school's website, you can either do a web search for the school's name and city, or use this state listing of schools and school systems: http://www.ncschoolreportcard.org/src/. Simply enter your school's name into the search box under "quick search."
School board representative(s): You can find contact information for your school board representatives in several ways. Most school system websites will have a section that lists school board members and how to get in touch with them. You can find your school system's main website by doing a web search, or by using this list of public school systems in NC: http://www.ncschoolreportcard.org/src/
Some school systems may not list school board members' contact information on their websites. You can also find this information either by contacting your own school's main office and asking who represents them on the school board, or by contacting your county's Board of Elections, which you can find in a local phonebook.
About School Boards... School board members are elected by the public - that means they are hired and fired by you! Some school systems have at-large school boards, which means that all members represent the entire school district. Other school systems are divided into districts, and each member of the school board represents a particular region and set of schools. Still other school systems have some combination of both, where some members represent a particular district, and others are at-large. Whatever the case may be for your school system, you should send you email/letter to any school board member who represents you directly - that might mean all of them on an at-large school board. You should also send your email/letter to any school board member with whom you have a personal connection, whether or not they directly represent you. If in doubt, simply copy all members of the school board.
Already receiving pesticide use notification from your school?
I'd love to see how they're doing - please consider sending me a copy of the notice(s) you've received.
Please either mail a copy of your notice(s) to:
Billie Karel
Toxic Free NC
206 New Bern Place
Raleigh, NC 27601
Or, it to me.
Many thanks!