County School Districts Ready for Pesticide Notification Law

Responding to a new state law, Ventura County schools are tightening their pesticide rules and working on better informing parents of when the poisons will be used on school grounds.

The coming school year will be the first in which districts are required to notify parents of on-campus spraying under the Healthy Schools Act of 2000. Though some districts already have such programs, the new laws set some standards that are tighter.

“What we’ve got is a pretty strong right-to-know bill about pesticide use in schools,” said Kelly Campbell, campaign coordinator for Californians for Pesticide Reform, which fought for the bill.

A recent study by the California Public Interest Research Group found that pesticide use at the state’s 15 largest school districts was “the rule rather than the exception” and that the pesticides used were often “particularly hazardous.”

The Ventura Unified School District, considered a front-runner in the state for its handling of pesticides, has for several years informed parents of spraying, a requirement of the new law, posting notices 24 hours ahead of time and keeping the notices up for another 72 hours.

The district also had previously sent out notifications of special spraying situations. The new law requires districts to go a step further and send out an annual notice with a list of the approved pesticides being used.

“This not only includes the students, but we’re telling the staff as well,” said Fernando Gonzalez, operations manager for the Ventura district. “It’s important that the public be aware of potential side effects [from the pesticides].”

In addition, each school is required to maintain records of all pesticides used at the school site for four years, including copies of the warning signs posted when pesticides are applied.

Campbell said several districts, including Ventura and Los Angeles Unified, have particularly strong programs.

In Ventura, schools are experimenting with using heat and steam to kill weeds to avoid using pesticides, Gonzalez said.

In the Oxnard Elementary School District, parents can request personal notification if their children are particularly sensitive to chemicals, said Assistant Supt. Sandra Rosales.

“Some of the notification is [required] even if we’re using something considered nontoxic,” she said. “For asthmatic children, for instance.”

Though the bill specifically deals with pest control measures at schools, groups such as the Ventura County Farm Bureau are worried that the new rules could lead to broader measures against agribusiness.

The use of agricultural pesticides near schools has become an increasingly heated issue as more suburban schools are built near farmland.

“That is something we’re concerned about,” Campbell said. “This is a huge issue. . . . When the awareness is raised, things can change.”