Article 17. Healthy Schools Act Of 2000 of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 7. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 17.

This article, Article 4 (commencing with Section 17608) of Chapter 5 of Part 10.5 of the Education Code, and Article 2 (commencing with Section 105500) of Chapter 7 of Division 103 of the Health and Safety Code, shall be known and may be cited as the Healthy Schools Act of 2000.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, for purposes of this article, "integrated pest management" means a pest management strategy that focuses on long-term prevention or suppression of pest problems through a combination of techniques such as monitoring for pest presence and establishing treatment threshold levels, using nonchemical practices to make the habitat less conducive to pest development, improving sanitation, and employing mechanical and physical controls. Pesticides that pose the least possible hazard and are effective in a manner that minimizes risks to people, property, and the environment, are used only after careful monitoring indicates they are needed according to preestablished guidelines and treatment thresholds. This definition shall apply only to integrated pest management at school facilities and child day care facilities.
  (b) For purposes of this article "IPM coordinator" has the same meaning as school designee or IPM coordinator, as those terms are defined in subdivision (e) of Section 17609 of the Education Code.

It is the policy of the state that effective least toxic pest management practices should be the preferred method of managing pests at schoolsites and that the state, in order to reduce children' s exposure to toxic pesticides, shall take the necessary steps, pursuant to this article, to facilitate the adoption of effective least toxic pest management practices at schoolsites. It is the intent of the Legislature that all school personnel involved in the application of pesticides at a schoolsite be trained in integrated pest management and the safe use of pesticides in relation to the unique nature of schoolsites and children's health.

(a) The department shall promote and facilitate the voluntary adoption of integrated pest management programs for schoolsites, excluding privately operated child day care facilities, as defined in Section 1596.750 of the Health and Safety Code, that voluntarily choose to do so. For these schoolsites, the department shall do all of the following:
  (1) Establish an integrated pest management program for schoolsites consistent with Section 13181. In establishing the program, the department shall:
  (A) Develop criteria for identifying least-hazardous pest control practices and encourage their adoption as part of an integrated pest management program at each schoolsite.
  (B) Develop a model program guidebook that prescribes essential program elements for schoolsites that have adopted a least-hazardous integrated pest management program. At a minimum, this guidebook shall include guidance on all of the following:
  (i) Adopting an IPM policy.
  (ii) Selecting and training an IPM coordinator.
  (iii) Identifying and monitoring pest populations and damage.
  (iv) Establishing a community-based school district advisory committee.
  (v) Developing a pest management plan for making least-hazardous pest control choices.
  (vi) Contracting for integrated pest management services.
  (vii) Training and licensing opportunities.
  (viii) Establishing a community-based right-to-know standard for notification and posting of pesticide applications.
  (ix) Recordkeeping and program review.
  (C) Develop a template for an integrated pest management plan to be used by schoolsites or school districts. The template shall outline a strategy for integrated pest management as described in Section 13181.
  (2) Make the model program guidebook available to schoolsites and establish a process for systematically updating the guidebook and supporting documentation.
  (b) The department shall promote and facilitate the voluntary adoption of integrated pest management programs at child day care facilities, as defined in Section 1596.750 of the Health and Safety Code, through the following:
  (1) Modifying the department's existing integrated pest management program for schoolsites as described in subdivision (a) of Section 13183 for the child day care setting.
  (2) Creating or modifying existing educational and informational materials on integrated pest management for the child day care setting.
  (3) Making the materials available to child day care facilities and establishing a process for systematically updating them.
  (c) The department shall develop a training course to train any person who intends to apply pesticides on a schoolsite. The training course shall cover integrated pest management and the safe use of pesticides in relation to the unique nature of schoolsites and children's health. The training course shall be provided by the department or an agent authorized by the department.

(a) In implementing Section 13183, the department shall establish and maintain an Internet Web site as a comprehensive directory of resources describing and promoting least-hazardous practices at schoolsites. The Web site shall also make available an electronic copy of the model program guidebook, its updates, and supporting documentation. The department shall also establish and maintain on its Web site an easily identified link that provides the public with all appropriate information regarding the public health and environmental impacts of pesticide active ingredients and ways to reduce the use of pesticides at school facilities.
  (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state assist school districts to ensure that compliance with Section 17612 of the Education Code is simple and inexpensive. The department shall include in its Web site Internet-based links that allow schools to properly identify and list the active ingredients of pesticide products they expect to be applied during the upcoming year. Use of these links by schools is not mandatory but shall be made available to all schools at no cost. The department shall ensure that adequate resources are available to respond to inquiries from school facilities or districts regarding the use of integrated pest management practices.

(a) The department shall establish an integrated pest management training program in order to facilitate the adoption of a model IPM program and least-hazardous pest control practices by schoolsites. In establishing the IPM training program, the department shall do all of the following:
  (1) Adopt a "train-the-trainer" approach, whenever feasible, to rapidly and broadly disseminate program information.
  (2) Develop curricula and promote ongoing training efforts in cooperation with the University of California and the California State University.
  (3) Prioritize outreach on a regional basis first and then to school districts. For outreach to child day care facilities, the department shall participate in existing trainings that provide opportunities for disseminating program information broadly on a regional basis.
  (b) Nothing in this article shall preclude a schoolsite from adopting stricter pesticide use policies.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that the Department of Pesticide Regulation, pursuant to Section 12979 of the Food and Agricultural Code and Sections 6624 and 6627 of Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations, requires persons engaged for hire in the business of pest control to maintain records of pesticide use and report a summary of that pesticide use to the county agricultural commissioner or director. The Legislature further finds and declares that it is in the interest of the state, in implementing a school integrated pest management program pursuant to this article, to collect specified information on the use of pesticides at schoolsites.
  (b) The Department of Pesticide Regulation shall prepare a school pesticide use form to be used by licensed and certified pest control operators when they apply any pesticides at a schoolsite. The form shall include, for each application at a schoolsite, the name and address of the schoolsite, date and location of application, pesticide product name, and the quantity of pesticide used. Nothing in this section shall change any existing applicable pesticide use reporting requirements.
  (c) Persons who are required to submit pesticide use records to the county agricultural commissioner or director shall complete and submit to the director the school pesticide use forms established pursuant to this section. The forms shall be submitted annually and may be submitted more often at the discretion of the pest control operator maintaining the forms. Child day care facilities, excluding family day care homes, as defined in Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, which are subject to the Healthy Schools Act of 2000, shall inform contractors hired to apply pesticides at the schoolsite that the facility must comply with the Healthy Schools Act of 2000.
  (d) Any person who is hired to apply pesticides at a child day care facility, excluding family day care homes, as defined in Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, shall provide that facility's school designee with all of the following information at least 120 hours in advance of any pesticide application, except in the case of an emergency condition, as defined in Section 17609 of the Education Code:
  (1) The pesticide product name.
  (2) The pesticide manufacturer's name.
  (3) The United States Environmental Protection Agency's product registration number.
  (4) The active ingredient or ingredients in the pesticide product.
  (5) The areas of application.
  (6) The intended date of application.
  (7) The reason for the pesticide application.
  (e) If a person hired to apply pesticides contracts directly with the property owner or his or her agent rather than directly with the child day care facility, excluding family day care homes, as defined in Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, the property owner or his or her agent must notify the contractor that a child day care facility is being operated on the property at which the pesticides are to be applied to enable the contractor to comply with subdivision (d).

(a) Commencing July 1, 2016, and except as provided in subdivision (b), a school designee, as defined in Section 17609 of the Education Code, and any person, including, but not necessarily limited to, a schoolsite or school district employee, who, in the course of his or her work, intends to apply a pesticide at a schoolsite subject to this article, shall annually complete a training course provided by the department or an agent authorized by the department. The training course shall include integrated pest management and the safe use of pesticides in relation to the unique nature of schoolsites and children's health.
  (b) (1) Commencing July 1, 2016, any person hired to apply a pesticide at a schoolsite subject to this article shall complete at least a one-hour training course in integrated pest management and the safe use of pesticides in relation to the unique nature of schoolsites and children's health before applying pesticides at a schoolsite subject to this article and during each subsequent licensing period in which the person applies a pesticide at a schoolsite subject to this article. The training course may be applied to his or her professional continuing education requirement required by the Structural Pest Control Board or the department.
  (2) The training course required by paragraph (1) shall be developed by the department and may also be developed by a provider approved by the Structural Pest Control Board if the training course has been approved by the department.
  (3) The department shall ensure that the training course it develops or approves pursuant to paragraph (2) meets the requirements for continuing education credit required by the Structural Pest Control Board and the department.

Sections 13186 and 13186.5 shall not apply to any agency signatory to a cooperative agreement with the State Department of Public Health pursuant to Section 116180 of the Health and Safety Code.

The Director of Pesticide Regulation may adopt regulations to implement this article.