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Pennsylvania Organizations Ready to Help Schools - June 2002

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- Parents, teachers, public health and environmental groups all hailed the recent passing of new legislation that requires schools in Pennsylvania to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) programs, while organizations across the state are working to ensure schools are prepared.

IPM programs rely heavily on prevention, sanitation, maintenance, and monitoring to reduce the reliance on pesticides. Pesticides are used on an as-needed basis as determined by monitoring. When a pesticide is needed, it is applied in an enclosed trap or on a spot treatment basis whenever possible and targeted to the specific pest.

The Pesticide Notification Act will reduce unnecessary pesticide use by requiring public schools to adopt IPM. The Act will also prohibit pesticide applications when students will be present in the school building or on school grounds for seven hours; and will require schools to notify parents who request advance notification before applying pesticides in the school or on its grounds. The bills will take effect as of January 1, 2003.

The new legislation places responsibilities on the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) to assist schools in the development, planning and preparation of the IPM plan. "The department will maintain a Hypersensitivity Registry to assist in the notification of students and employees who are especially sensitive to pesticides," says Dave Bingaman, conservation & agricultural technology division chief, Bureau of Plant Industry, PDA. "We'll also designate an IPM coordinator within the department to assist schools in adopting and administering IPM plans. Additionally, we'll develop a standard structural IPM agreement and distribute it to schools, as well as provide other materials and support to schools to aid them in developing IPM plans."

Several other organizations are collaborating so that schools in the commonwealth will be prepared to meet the new standards. The Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) has been working with the PDA and the Pennsylvania IPM Program (PA IPM) to prepare two upcoming videoconference programs to educate their members on the new legislation. Curtis Richards, assistant executive director of PASBO, says their members consist of business officials from almost all of Pennsylvania's schools districts, vocational technical schools and intermediate units, and many of them have been following the new requirements for years. " In our organization, the safety of the students has always been our top priority. IPM has been used in the past because our membership is aware of the need and value of the program."

Richards says they are working towards making sure they comply with the all the new requirements. They will be presenting two video conferences this year, the first scheduled on July 11. The video conference will be located at the PASBO offices in Harrisburg and six other sites across the Commonwealth. "An overview of the new legislation will be presented, as well as the reasons for it and how to implement it," Richards explains. Suggestions on how to address certain specifications will also be made. Members will be made aware of such references as the PA IPM Program's IPM for Pennsylvania Schools, A How-To Manual and helpful Web sites for further assistance.

The second video conference, scheduled for November 7, will help members draw up IPM plan documents, provide examples of IPM plans, address technical issues, and help ensure all public school entities in Pennsylvania meet the January 1 deadline.

"It's in our collective interest to inform and support our members of the new legislation and to ensure a better and safer learning environment for students. IPM allows schools to take care of problems safely and economically, and we're fully supportive of that," says PASBO Executive Director Jay Himes.

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) is another organization assisting schools in complying with the new laws. "The association's Policy Maintenance Program distributed in 1999 a model IPM policy that was developed in collaboration with Penn State and PDA. A revised model IPM policy that complies with both new laws was recently distributed to subscribers of the policy program," says Sharon Fissel, director of policy services. PSBA offers various policy service options, including the Policy Maintenance Program, to which PSBA members can subscribe. The Policy Maintenance Program features a newsletter that informs members of new laws and how to comply with them.

PSBA also has a Web site, http://www.psba.org, which includes up-to-date information on issues affecting schools in Pennsylvania. Fissel says PSBA also maintains a resource file that contains sample policies, forms and other informative materials that are available to school entities. "What we've seen regarding implementation of IPM in schools is very encouraging," says Fissel. "Many school districts, vocational technical schools and intermediate units already have IPM plans in place, while others are aware of the issue and are working on plans. The current culture in schools is to take proactive measures to protect the health and safety of students and staff and to keep parents informed of what goes on in schools."

For more information on PASBO, contact Curt Richards at (717) 540-9551, ext. 236, or by email at crichards@pasbo.org. For more information on PSBA, contact Sharon Fissel at (717) 774-2331, ext. 3373, or email at sharon.fissel@psba.org.

For more information on School IPM, go to the PA IPM Program's Web site at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu. Under the "Schools" link find out more about the School IPM effort in Pennsylvania and links to educational material from across the country. You can also download several publications, including IPM for Pennsylvania Schools, A How-To Manual. In addition, there is an interactive database on the Web site to assist teachers with IPM background information, lesson plans and support materials throughout the U.S.

The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations.