CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 17608-17613
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 17608-17613
17608. This article and Article 17 (commencing with Section 13180)
of Chapter 2 of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code shall be
known and cited as the Healthy Schools Act of 2000.
17609. The definitions set forth in this section govern the
construction of this article unless the context clearly requires
otherwise:
(a) "Antimicrobial" means those pesticides defined by the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136(mm)).
(b) "Crack and crevice treatment" means the application of small
quantities of a pesticide consistent with labeling instructions in a
building into openings such as those commonly found at expansion
joints, between levels of construction and between equipment and
floors.
(c) "Emergency conditions" means any circumstances in which the
school designee or a property owner of a property where a privately
operated child day care facility is located, or the property owner's
agent, deems that the immediate use of a pesticide is necessary to
protect the health and safety of pupils, staff, or other persons, or
the schoolsite.
(d) "School designee" means the individual identified by a
schoolsite or school district to carry out the requirements of this
article at the schoolsite.
(e) "Schoolsite" means any facility used as a child day care
facility, as defined in Section 1596.750 of the Health and Safety
Code, or for kindergarten, elementary, or secondary school purposes.
The term includes the buildings or structures, playgrounds, athletic
fields, vehicles, or any other area of property visited or used by
pupils. "Schoolsite" does not include any postsecondary educational
facility attended by secondary pupils or private kindergarten,
elementary, or secondary school facilities. For child day care
facilities, the State Department of Social Services shall serve as
the liaison to these facilities, as needed.
17610. (a) 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 Article 17 (commencing with Section 13180) of Chapter 2
of Division 7 of the Food and Agricultural Code, to facilitate the
adoption of effective least toxic pest management practices at
schoolsites. It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage
appropriate training to be provided to school personnel involved in
the application of a pesticide at a schoolsite.
(b) (1) A property owner of a property where a child day care
facility is located, or the property owner's agent, who personally
applies any pesticides on any area listed in paragraph (2) shall
provide notice to the child day care facility as described in
paragraph (3) at least 120 hours before the application, unless an
emergency condition, as defined in Section 17609, exists.
An owner of property on which a child day care facility is located
shall be subject to the requirement to provide notice pursuant to
this subdivision 30 days after it has received notice from a child
day care facility of its presence at the property, unless the
property owner, or his or her agent received that notice pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 1597.40 of the Health and
Safety Code prior to the effective date of this subdivision in which
case the property owner will be subject to the notice requirements
on and after the effective date of this subdivision.
(2) This subdivision applies when a property owner or his or her
agent intend to personally apply pesticides on any of the following:
(A) Inside the rented premises on which child day care facility is
located.
(B) Upon a designated child day care facility playground
designated by the property owner.
(C) Upon an area designated for use by the child day care
facility.
(D) Upon an area within 10 feet of the perimeter of the child day
care facility.
(3) The notice required by paragraph (1) shall include the
following:
(A) The product name.
(B) The manufacturer's name.
(C) The active ingredients of each pesticide.
(D) The United States Environmental Protection Agency's product
registration number.
(E) The intended date of application.
(F) Those areas of application listed in paragraph (2).
(G) The reason for application.
(4) A notice of pesticide application provided to a tenant
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 13186 of the Food and
Agricultural Code shall satisfy the notice requirements of this
section.
(5) If the child day care facility ceases to operate on the
property, the provisions of this act shall no longer apply to the
property.
17610.1. (a) (1) The use of a pesticide on a schoolsite is
prohibited if that pesticide is granted a conditional registration,
an interim registration, or an experimental use permit by the
Department of Pesticide Regulation, or if the pesticide is subject to
an experimental registration issued by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency, and either of the following is
applicable:
(A) The pesticide contains a new active ingredient.
(B) The pesticide is for a new use. This paragraph does not apply
to a conditionally registered pesticide that is approved for other
uses that has fulfilled all registration requirements that relate to
human health, including, but not limited to, the completion of
mandatory health effect studies pursuant to the Birth Defect
Prevention Act of 1984 (Art. 14 (commencing with Sec. 13121), Ch. 2,
Div. 7, F. & A.C.). The requirements of this section are not intended
to impose any new labeling requirements.
(2) The use of a pesticide on a schoolsite is prohibited if the
Department of Pesticide Regulation cancels or suspends registration,
or requires phase out of use, of that pesticide.
(b) Vendors or manufacturers of pesticides that are prohibited for
use on a schoolsite pursuant to subdivision (a) are prohibited from
furnishing those pesticides to school districts or schoolsites either
by sale or by gift.
(c) This section does not apply to public health pesticides or
antimicrobial pesticides registered pursuant to Section 12836 of the
Food and Agricultural Code.
17610.5. Sections 17611 and 17612 shall not apply to a pesticide
product deployed in the form of a self-contained bait or trap, to gel
or paste deployed as a crack and crevice treatment, to any pesticide
exempted from regulation by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 et seq.), or to antimicrobial
pesticides, including sanitizers and disinfectants.
17611. Each schoolsite shall maintain records of all pesticide use
at the schoolsite for a period of four years, and shall make this
information available to the public, upon request, pursuant to the
California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code). A schoolsite
may meet the requirements of this section by retaining a copy of the
warning sign posted for each application required pursuant to Section
17612, and recording on that copy the amount of the pesticide used.
17612. (a) The school designee shall annually provide to all staff
and parents or guardians of pupils enrolled at a schoolsite a written
notification of the name of all pesticide products expected to be
applied at the schoolsite during the upcoming year. The notification
shall identify the active ingredient or ingredients in each pesticide
product. The notice shall also contain the Internet address used to
access information on pesticides and pesticide use reduction
developed by the Department of Pesticide Regulation pursuant to
Section 13184 of the Food and Agricultural Code and may contain other
information deemed necessary by the school designee. No other
written notification of pesticide applications shall be required by
this act except as follows:
(1) In the written notification provided pursuant to this
subdivision, the school designee shall provide the opportunity for
recipients to register with the schoolsite if they wish to receive
notification of individual pesticide applications at the schoolsite.
Persons who register for notification shall be notified of individual
pesticide applications at least 72 hours prior to the application.
The notice shall include the product name, the active ingredient or
ingredients in the product, and the intended date of application.
(2) If a pesticide product not included in the annual notification
is subsequently intended for use at the schoolsite, the school
designee shall, consistent with this subdivision and at least 72
hours prior to application, provide written notification of its
intended use.
(b) The school designee shall make every effort to meet the
requirements of this section in the least costly manner. Annual
notification by a school district to parents and guardians shall be
provided pursuant to Section 48980.3. Any other notification shall,
to the extent feasible and consistent with the act adding this
article, be included as part of any other written communication
provided to individual parents or guardians. Nothing in this section
shall require the school designee to issue the notice through
first-class mail, unless he or she determines that no other method is
feasible.
(c) Pest control measures taken during an emergency condition as
defined in Section 17609 shall not be subject to the requirements of
paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a). However, the school
designee or property owner shall make every effort to provide the
required notification for an application of a pesticide under
emergency conditions.
(d) The school designee shall post each area of the schoolsite
where pesticides will be applied with a warning sign. The warning
sign shall prominently display the term "Warning/Pesticide Treated
Area" and shall include the product name, manufacturer's name, the
United States Environmental Protection Agency's product registration
number, intended date and areas of application, and reason for the
pesticide application. The warning sign shall be visible to all
persons entering the treated area and shall be posted 24 hours prior
to the application and remain posted until 72 hours after the
application. In case of a pest control emergency, the warning sign
shall be posted immediately upon application and shall remain posted
until 72 hours after the application.
(e) Subdivisions (a) and (d) shall not apply to schools operated
by the Division of Juvenile Justice. The school administrator of a
school operated by the Division of Juvenile Justice shall notify the
chief medical officer of that facility at least 72 hours prior to
application of pesticides. The chief medical officer shall take any
steps necessary to protect the health of pupils in that facility.
(f) This section and Section 17611 shall not apply to activities
undertaken at a school by participants in the state program of
agricultural vocational education, pursuant to Article 7 (commencing
with Section 52450) of Chapter 9 of Part 28, if the activities are
necessary to meet the curriculum requirements prescribed in Section
52454. Nothing in this subdivision relieves schools participating in
the state program of agricultural vocational education of any duties
pursuant to this section for activities that are not directly related
to the curriculum requirements of Section 52454.
(g) Sections 17610 to 17612, inclusive, shall not apply to family
day care homes or property owners of day care homes, as defined in
Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, or their agents who
personally apply any pesticides.
(h) If pesticide is applied by a property owner or his or her
agent, or by a pest control operator, failure to provide notice
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 17610 or subdivision (d) of
Section 13186 of the Food and Agricultural Code shall relieve a
privately operated child day care facility from the requirements of
this section.
17613. Section 17612 shall not apply to any agency signatory to a
cooperative agreement with the State Department of Health Services
pursuant to Section 116180 of the Health and Safety Code.