Integrated Pest Management Plan
Since children spend the majority of their day in school, they need a pest-free learning environment. The Health Schools Act encourages schools and child care facilities to use an integrated pest management (IPM) to keep pests out of schools. IPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices that reduce pest presence and the potential for pesticide exposure to students, teachers and others at a school site. However, an IPM program may include the use of pesticides after other pest management methods are tried, but ineffective.
The Healthy Schools Act establishes your right to know about the pesticides that are applied at your school. School districts are also required to post their IPM plan and post warning signs around the pesticide application area 24 hours before and remain in place 72 hours after.
Below is LUSD's current IPM Plan:
Pesticide Regulation
Used Near Schools & Child Day Care Centers
California's Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has adopted a new regulation (effective January 1, 2018) that addresses agricultural pesticide applications near public K-12 schools and licensed child day care centers. The regulation provides minimum distance standards for certain agricultural pesticide applications near schoolsites and requires annual notifications to schoolsites/child care centers. The goal is to reduce the chances of unintended pesticide exposure to children and increase communication between growers, county agricultural commissioners, and schoolsites. The below fact sheet provides additional information about this regulation.