2. Research the hazards of the chemicals used by your school or district, and the special hazards that pesticides pose to children and in school settings. Share the information (and your concerns) with school district maintenance and safety staff, your school principal, and other school staff. Here are some places to begin looking for information.

• Unthinkable Risk: How Children are Exposed and Harmed When Pesticides Are Used at School
• Researching Pesticides' Health Effects on the Web
• NCAP pesticide factsheets
• Links to other sites with information on pesticide hazards
• Coming soon! Ten reasons why pesticides should NOT be used at school
• Do Pesticides Pose Special Hazards to Children? [PDF 51k]
• Jimmy and Jane's Day: How Children are Exposed to Pesticides [PDF 408k]
• Are Pesticides Taking Away the Ability of Our Children to Learn? [PDF 48k]
• Links to sites with information on children's environmental health

At your school

• Share the information you have gathered about pesticide hazards and pesticide use at your school with other interested parents, teachers, students, and school staff. Talk to your school PTA or parent group, school site council, school environmental committee, and student environmental or service clubs, if any. Get an article in your school newsletter or newspaper.
• With the support of the above individuals and groups, ask your school principal, groundskeepers and/or custodians to sign the school pesticide use reduction pledge. Work to see that a new or existing school committee is set up to oversee its implementation.
• Work to educate your school's teachers, custodians, nurses, and other school staff about the harmful effects of pesticides, and about pest prevention and safer pest control alternatives. Get involved in helping implement a non-toxic head lice prevention and control program if your school does not already have one. [Consult the National Pediculosis Association's Childcare Provider Guidelines or NCAP's head lice factsheet [PDF 51k] for help.] Discuss with school staff ways to educate the entire school community about their important role in pest prevention (e.g., via sanitation, and reduction of pest-attracting food, water, and harborage sources).
• Ask to be notified in advance about any planned pesticide applications at your school.


At the school district level:

• Meet and share your concerns with school district supervisors, the superintendent, and school Board members.
• Make presentations, and solicit the support of other PTAs, other school site councils, the teachers' union, maintenance and food service workers' unions, school nurses association, and other school-affiliated groups.
• Circulate a petition and submit it to appropriate school district administrators and decisionmakers.
• Use the pesticide use data you collect to produce a report on school pesticide use and hazards in your school district. Follow this link for information about similar school pesticide use and hazards reports done by other groups.


In the broader community:

• Find out if other groups are working on school pesticide reduction issues in your community, state, or region. Contact them to share ideas, strategies, and materials. Click here for a list of selected organizations working on school pesticide issues in various regions of the U.S.
• Do presentations, and ask for the endorsements of other community groups and community leaders. Natural allies may include: environmental groups; children's health organizations and advocates; doctors, nurses, naturopaths, and their associations; the local lung association and allergy, cancer or other health advocacy or support groups; organic gardening clubs; and more.
• Write a news release about school pesticide use issues, or your school pesticide use report, and send it to local television, newspaper and radio reporters. Urge them to do a story about the report, and school pesticide hazards and alternatives. Follow this link to view a sample news release.
• Mail an "Action Alert" to the mailing list you generate from a petition drive, or to PTA or other organizations' mailing lists that you get permission to use. Urge recipients of the "Alert" to write to key school district decision-makers. Follow this link for a sample "Action Alert" [PDF 34K] in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). If you have access to an e-mail list, or can generate one, send an e-mail Action Alert, too. Follow this link for some tips for how to design an effective e-mail Alert.
• Submit a letter-to-the-editor about your pesticide use report. Circulate a sample letter-to-the-editor that others can use as a model for their own letters to the local paper(s). Follow this link for sample letters-to-the-editor.

• NCAP Pest Control Alternatives Factsheets
• School Pest Control Alternatives [PDF 9k] (1-page summary handout)
• School Pest Control Alternatives (detailed pest-by-pest information)
• NCAP Model School IPM Policy
• Elements of a Sound and Effective School Pesticide Minimization Policy
• Weaning Schools Off Weed Killers with Natural Landscaping [PDF 145k]
• Landscaping Nature's Way [PDF 425k]
• Pesticide Use Posting and Notification Policies [PDF 102k]
• IPM Practitioners Association: Information on pest treatment alternatives and landscaping techniques
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency School IPM Publications
• School IPM Videos

6. Involve teachers and students as well as parents and school staff: Implementing a non-chemical or least-toxic school and grounds maintenance policy can be a rewarding experience for students and teachers, as well as for parents, grounds staff and school administrators. Find incentives for students and teachers to participate and feel good about the new program! Through observation and direct participation, students can learn about: insects and other pests, and their life cycles and natural predators; the toxic effects of chemicals; and environmentally sound alternative ways to manage buildings and landscapes while protecting natural resources. Teachers can gain a new 'laboratory' or outdoor 'classroom' for teaching these concepts, as well as enjoy a less-toxic workplace. Most parents will enjoy a greater peace of mind knowing that their children are being exposed to fewer pesticides at school. The more of these groups that are involved in creating and carrying out the policy, the more likely it will be to succeed.

7. Keep at it to make sure that the policy continues to work: Get a standing committee set up to oversee the development and implementation of the new policy. Continue to involve as many interested parties as possible. This might include parents, students, teachers, school staff (including the school nurse), IPM and pest control specialists, natural landscaping consultants, pesticide experts, community and environmental health consultants or practitioners, architects, neighbors, or other interested citizens. Be sure that the committee meets regularly to review the progress and setbacks as the new policy is carried out. After the policy is developed, make sure that all existing and new school staff are trained in its principles and receive periodic updates. Also be sure that parents, students, and teachers know the important role of sanitation in reducing pest problems. Work to get continuing positive coverage of the program in local and school papers, and other public recognition (e.g., awards from the City Council, Environmental Protection Agency, or other civic or governmental organizations). Don't forget to take regular opportunities to celebrate program accomplishments, and to reward grounds and building staff and others for successes and innovative new approaches they might come up with to reduce pesticide use!